Cup of Dreams

Perfect endings are not scripted in the world of cinema alone. There is poetic justice even in sports. India’s inspiring victory is an amalgamation of events that comprises of a 37 year olds twenty one year grand journey, a 22 year olds first world cup, a supremely gifted batman’s path to self realization and a Man of the tournament recognition and an ex-ticket collector’s genius at leading and delivering the hopes of a billion people.

World Cups in sport is a portal of dreams. The unison of victory and celebration is a breeding ground for the next generation of players who would extend that chain of inspiration. But none more so holds it together through his sheer presence than Sachin Tendulkar. “This is what i played for all these years, not those 99 hundreds. Now we don’t know what else to look forward to,” said a cheerful Tendulkar during a recent interview. It summarised everything; his source of inspiration, his dreams and also his way ahead. In that statement we all felt those dreaded words of his retirement camouflaged in that immense sense of satisfaction. Although most of us will never know or understand what goes inside a genius’head, but the feeling of completion that we sense each time we hear Sachin speak after this sublime win, brings us closer to the end of a blessed period for cricket.

This game never required to push itself to get the kids to pick up a bat and ball in our country. But this triumph will do what it did for Tendulkar 28 years ago, when the Calypso played a whole different tune composed by Kapil Dev’s fighting bunch.

This Cup was not just about that beautiful image of a teary eyed Tendulkar being carried around by the very group he inspired to play the game. It is also about those missed opportunities and heartbreaks that other players went through. Spare a thought for Praveen Kumar who would probably never be a part of a World Cup winning side. Muralidharan retired a champion, but his final goodbye was a match in which he went wicketless. Such are the dynamics of the game that, Yuvraj Singh, who barely made it to the final World Cup squad ended up contributing the most to the side. His acrobatics in the first 10 overs of the finals was testament to his revamped approach to the game, something he aptly attributes to Tendulkar. It isn’t just this World Cup that is a mixed bag for the players who were in it or out of it. In 1983 Sunil Valson became a part of Indian cricketing folklore, yet he never played a match for his country again. Then again a young but mature Kohli shared Tendulkar's greatest moment in his very first World Cup.

For Tendulkar, we all know by now, this achievement is a culmination of that one dream; to win the World Cup. Rarely in history has a sporting legend been able to live such a journey. He was touched by the hand of God or so many amongst us believe. He will always have good will riding by his side, not just because he is a genius, but the fact that he is continues to be a normal human being despite his greatness. That is a wonderful benchmark for the next generation of individuals, sporting or otherwise to begin their lives with.

Chances are that there will not be another one like Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, but for an entire nation, this is their moment and we owe to one man.