My Thoughts

On 2nd April 2011, MS Dhoni did which no other captain after Kapil in 1983 was able to achieve. He won the World Cup for India. A wait of 28 years finally ended and the nation rejoiced. The memory of Dhoni smashing Kulasekara over the long on fence will be forever etched in the minds of the Indian cricket fans. Such is the power of this victory and Dhoni becomes a legend in the Indian cricketing history. The ice cool captain of India stood up to be counted when it absolutely mattered and with the help of Ghambir sealed the most memorable victory for the team India.

When I watched my first game in 1991, I had no clue about the Indian cricket. After watching just few games, I was glued on to the sport forever. I began by knowing about the game better, the history of the sport, the legends of Indian cricket everything I needed to know about the game. I even watched a video called “The History of Indian cricket- 1933-1985”, which taught me a lot about Indian cricket. I learnt that India had won the 1983 world cup. I saw the clippings like thousands of times. I saw the 1983 stars speak about that moment so many times on television. The picture of Kapil lifting the coveted trophy in 1983 is something every cricket fan cherishes even today. That as everyone knows kicked off the cricketing legacy of team India. That win inspired a young Sachin Tendulkar to grow in to a legend that he is today.

As a cricket fan, I always dreamt about watching an Indian team win a world cup again. A dream which I am sure is shared by every cricket fan in India. The dream was turned into a reality when Mahindra Singh Dhoni lifted the trophy on the 2nd of April in Mumbai. It was surely a proud moment for me. I felt extremely blessed to have watched the winning moment, a moment which I always wanted to be a part of. As a cricket fan I had two major wishes, one was to watch my icon Sachin Tendulkar score a hundred live (Which I did on the 4th day of India Vs Pak in Chennai, I was there on the ground) and the second was to watch India win a world cup. I am extremely happy that both those wishes have been granted.

MSD probably is the most unassuming leader of the Indian cricket team ever, the icy cool nature of the man is being appreciated by cricketing pundits across the globe. Dhoni led the team in a brilliant fashion in this cup and marshaled his resources with extreme finesse. He now leads the best team in the world in Test cricket, has won T20 world cup as captain and now adds the World Cup to his already impressive resume. As Imran Khan said in a recent interview, he is now the best captain in world cricket and he deserves all the accolades he is receiving right now. In spite of such a great win, we still see him humble and down to earth which shows the humility of the man. To be grounded after achieving such stupendous success speaks volumes about his nature.

In all this celebration, as the captain himself pointed out, we should not forget the contributions of Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. A various stages these there legends were responsible in setting up the team to what it is at the moment. Ganguly took over the reins of the team when the entire cricketing world was in turmoil with the match fixing saga. His contribution along with John Wright cannot be forgotten by any Indian cricket fan. He instilled the fighting spirit, self belief in this team which was lacking in the teams of the 90’s. Dhoni though if he continues in the vein might become the best Indian captain of all time. I congratulate the team on a brilliant win and I hope that they don’t stop at this and achieve much more in the coming years. With Captain Marvelous leading us from the front, I think there is more to celebrate in the coming years.