If ROAR was the song that encapsulated the Indian cricket team’s entry into the Finals on 27th June, RISE is the song I want to dedicate to the T20 Title win in Bridge Town on 29th June 2024. In my mind, our victory was about rise and surprise.
I won’t just survive
Oh, you will see me thrive
Can’t write my story
I’m beyond the archetype
I won’t just conform
No matter how you shake my core
‘Cause my roots, they run deep, oh
Oh, ye of so little faith
Don’t doubt it, don’t doubt it
Victory is in my veins
I know it, I know it
And I will not negotiate
I’ll fight it, I’ll fight it
I will transform
When, when the fire’s at my feet again
And the vultures all start circling
They’re whispering, you’re out of time
But still, I rise
This is no mistake, no accident
When you think the final nail is in, think again
Don’t be surprised, I will still rise
It was serendipitous that the day before the final, while we were in the car together as a family, I asked my younger daughter to play the above song RISE. I somehow didn’t enjoy the song at that time and moved on. Also during the day subconsciously I bought a stress ball along with some other grocery items. It was in the fitness of things that I was loitering around the house with the stress ball when South Africa was going all guns blazing. My wife who was on the sofa watching the game till then decided to shift her position. Our daughters also decided to change places from the living room. My wife had already asked us to figure out what to eat as she was in no mood to prepare dinner. We checked through the app and every cloud kitchen had only one message ” No delivery partner nearby“. Finally, we were saved by Fresh Menu and it arrived in time. By the time food arrived Indian innings was getting over and we decided to go at it during the innings break.
What a break it was for India when two wickets fell initially and with Makram back in the pavilion I was seeing a small ray of hope. But I kept telling my family unless and until we have Klassen and Miller the match is still not in our favour. Our worst fears were confirmed. Klassen and Miller were playing the match of their life, and we felt at the end of 15 overs that it’s all over for us. I told my wife also the same. I had given up. I started comparing it with Australian batsman Head who took the game from us. But then this new India team which Rohit, Rahul and company have built over the last 3 years was not the one who was giving up. We booed him during IPL and Twitter was blaming him for allegedly a rift between him and Rohit. But Oh boy Hardik, pardon us for what we did to you during IPL and we salute your resilience and emotional fortitude. The way you paid it back…
So when Hardik took the ball South Africa was 151-4, 26 from 24 balls and it was 10.30 PM. My wife had decided to leave and as we were staring down the barrel. Hardik provided that sniff and that was just the beginning and the tide was turning in our favour when Klassen left. But Miller was still at the other end. I have seen in IPL how Miller was the killer. But Jasprit Bumrah, whom Rohit turns to when we need a break got it with Jensen’s wicket and that is when we started sensing that there was a chance for us this time. I kept mentioning to family about Miller and his heroics. We have witnessed in our earlier World Cup wins where that one catch makes a big difference and that gives us that vital clutch.
The sun was staring down the ground. But we had our Sun ( Surya) taking the catch of his life just like Kapil Dev took the catch of Viv Richards IN 1983 and Sreeshant from no man’s land caught it in 2007. Surya caught the ball and I dropped that stress ball and ran towards the screen and started doing that fist pump in the air. My elder daughter has never been so involved in the game and she told everyone I wish I had captured Dad’s reaction on Video. I was elated and I knew that from a sniff we were now within a kissing distance of a very important victory. As the commentator at that time said, ” Break is done, India can dream again“. With the Sun ( Surya) rising we were then destined to finish the game. We put ourselves in those positions when it mattered.
I have a practice of praying in the morning post my shower. But on match day I was telling my wife that I was praying for our victory. We become so superstitious in these moments. My wife decided not to sit on the sofa which saw South Africa dominating and the moment she shifted her place wickets started falling. In my mind, I was thinking in 2011 Ravi Shastri was commentating when Dhoni clobbered that ball to six and won the game. This time around also Ravi Shastri was there in the commentator’s box. When the last ball was bowled he said, “It’s India” and the drought is over. As Harsha Bhogle said Ensemble cast, everyone, playing together, pulled their weight and Played for each other and maxed for the big occasions.
Times of India paper asked in the morning ” Will it be happy tears this time”?
Surya had the right pair of shoes and a couple of inches just short enough. It was the catch that made a big difference in the match. A billion feet off the ground and In the end it was SUN shine. South Africa had one look at the cup and then went down south. There was a tweet that my wife showed as we were basking in the glory of the night. It was on Rahul Dravid Sir. ” The best thing about Rahul Dravid is that in his last tournament, he made us break the wall“. Rohit during the post-match interview mentioned that this is the trophy which is missing in Rahul’s cabinet. SIR, This is your PRIZE.
Yes, it is Happy Tears this time, thanks to SUN to RISE with the Catch and give SIR that PRIZE for his contributions to the game at large…
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