The Cup.

It took almost the better portion of three decades to win it.So long.But it was worth it.As our MSD helicoptered Kulasekara over the fence,one billion dreams finally came true.


Truly it was the coup.Fours years ago,A team returned home utterly devastated and tarnished for all eternity.It was a team individual champions but one which lacked a team spirit ,and that had been intoxicated in its own pride and vanity.A team of swollen heads,as a coach from Down Under referred had groups.A massive shakeup was needed.And so it happened.Heads rolled.Leaders changed.And an obscure left handed opener was brought in.Along came a mental conditioner too,apparently to change the mindset of a perennially pressurized playing squad.

But it was in the T20 WC 2007 in South Africa where we uncovered our first piece of jewel,not the trophy,but a leader in the form of MS Dhoni.In Australia we found out
wily pacers like Praveen Kumar and mirror image of Dravid in Gambhir.
Tendulkar finally exorcised his demons and went on a century spree.Sehwag found the strength in his shoulders.Yuvraj worked harder on his game and Zaheer was fighting fit.Voila!A champion team was ready.

Such is the level of sport these days with the advancements of technology in training disciplines,that there were no clear favorites.India were under pressure anyway,so being at home meant home pitches more than baying crowds who demand a boundary every ball.Nevertheless there were always going to be stumbling blocks on the road to becoming of champions.

The blocks were huge anyway.Flat pitches meant the likes of SreeSanth and Nehra could not be cut any slack,and as a result runs flowed from the adversary batsmen.
While Bangladesh were battered,Ireland vanquished and The Netherlands were conquered,it became evident that the bowling was a tad undercooked to face good batsmen in flat feather beds.As in the other results it showed.
South Africa showed their tenacity by shocking the home side.While the lowly England one day side,buoyed by their consecutive Ashes victories managed a tie.Only against the Windies did the bowling department show any sign of improvement.

Lessons were learned quickly,and the team were ready for the quarter finals.
Battles with Australia and Pakistan followed and it was worth every penny of the tickets.The Oz fought fiercely as they usually do,but MSD's men stood their ground.
The under fire bowling restricted a powerful Aussie lineup to a manageable total and although the batting looked shaky against the pacy quartet of Lee,Johnson Tait and Watson,Yuvraj and Raina made it to the finishing line.Ponting's
century made him only the tragic hero.India avenged Ponting whose century had sent India's cup chance in 2003 over the fence.Eight years of pain were totally worth it.

It was the semi-final and Pakistan were waiting.The shrewd Afridi worked wonders with his uncanny attack and put India in a lot of bother.But it was the dropped catches of Tendulkar that was bewitching.Fate,we gasped.But it was plain Pakistani butterfingers.Nevertheless Sachin was dismissed after he got the job done.The onus was now on Zaheer and co.And no one who bowled disappointed.Everybody picked up a brace of wickets.That put a lot of pressure on Misbah and Hafeez.Seemed like everybody struck gold that day.Zaheer,Bhajji even Yuvraj had magic in their fingers.
Even a struggle from Umar Akmal would be vain.The Arch rivals were brought down.

It was the day of reckoning.Against a formidable side no less.Sri Lanka had been another of those bogey sides.But battles against tough rivals like Australia ,Pakistan and South Africa had shown the fiber of of the team.
Zaheer Khan got one early,but Jayawardena would notch a century that oozed class.It was brilliant especially in such demanding conditions.
275 was the target and Malinga struck early.Sehwag was caught in action plumb in a lazy attempt.In came the man who had honed his skills to Dravidian levels.He missed his ton,but he got the job done with the self promoted skipper.He was helped by Virat Kohli who was calm and assuring.In came the prince with a point to prove.But his king had done it for him already.Crucified for being useless with the bat the entire tournament,he showed his potency in an extreme pressure situation.
The scores came closer and then it was only a matter of time before the likes of the retiring Murali could only watch.It was clever Kulasekara who chanced his hand for a bit of magic with the ball.We could all feel it.Will Mahi do the helicopter to sign off??Or will he trudge for another comprehensive run??
Will he , or wont he??

And it he went all Leonardo da Vinci over it.In engineering that is.Not art.
The Captain pulled off a miraculous coup to hand the country the beloved Cup.

And the emotions.
Yuvraj cried.Bhajji bawled.My neighbour Mr.Chakraborty howled and danced in joy his balcony.For a dozen years we saw the Aussies hold the trophy,it was our time.
Sachin was paraded.He won the trophy he had never won.And in his twilight.Talk about late bloomers.While Virat Kohli in his young years delivered the perfect one day swansong speech for Sachin:"he has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders." Gautam Gambhir dedicated the victory to victims of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.Yuvraj the much maligned maverick was adjudged man of the tournament for his all round performance-the perfect answer to the critics who flipped him the bird.Kirsten became the venerable training God.

Reverence ,riches and rewards followed.But it was immaterial to the pride that emanated in winning the ultimate trophy of the game that had been embedded in the DNA of every Indian.
It was redemption.
It was the dream coming true.
It was the cup.