Today was perhaps the first time tears came to my eyes after watching a game of cricket. I normally get emotionally involved only when it comes to football and to my team - Manchester United. But for once, I felt emotionally involved with a cricket match.
Today, India beat the Australians 2-0 in a 4 test match series to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy. While that might be the thrilling enough to bring tears to most die-hard cricket fans in India, I was in tears for completely different reasons. Today was the last time we would see Sourav ganguly a.k.a the prince of Calcutta a.k.a dada take to the cricket field as a player of the Indian cricket squad. Ganguly has always been a personal favourite of mine for many reasons. But to see him take the field on the final day was quite emotional. A man who has been instrumental in making India a force to reckon with in international cricket was playing his last game.
What brought me to tears was what I saw at the start of the last days play; the entire team came all the way down to the boundary ropes and stopped. While I wondered why this was happening, I soon realised, we were paying our regards to India’s finest captains. Everyone stopped and waited for Saurav Ganguly to come and take the field first. He was symbolically leading this Indian team, his Indian team, for the last time. And it was at that precise moment, I don’t know what got the better of me, a single tear ran down either cheek. In my mind, this was the most beautiful thing I had seen in cricket.
As we inched closer to victory, MS Dhoni who had been leading the side, handed the reins over to Saurav Ganguly for perhaps the last time. It felt good to see Dada dish out field placements like in the old days. But since we were on the brink of victory, we didn’t catch him chewing away furiously on his nails. Once the game was won, the entire team lifted Ganguly on their shoulders and took him to the dressing room. This was another moment where I was certainly overwhelmed by emotion. I can only pray that when my time comes to go, I receive half the respect and admiration of what people like Ganguly and Kumble got on their last day as stalwart’s of Indian cricket for over a decade. It would be great to go out singing Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’.
Cheers Saurav! Thanks for taking us where we went! I am sure many youngsters in the team owe you a lot for vehemently supporting them through their ups and downs. Goodbye Saurav!!!
There was one more glorious moment at the end of the presentation. It wasn’t the fact that we lifted the trophy and to see Ricky Ponting being humble (Not one of his strong points), but it was the manner in which Dhoni accepted the trophy. He could have easily accepted it for himself; instead he chose to call Anil Kumble to accept the trophy along with him. Dhoni refused to pick up the cup until Kumble was there to take it too. This showed great maturity in MS Dhoni as a person. We all know about how Dhoni is, as far as cricketing tactics and playing is concerned, but today, what he did was far more than what cricket is all about. It’s more to do with what we as Indians are all about. This was perhaps the greatest display of our heritage as being people who will look to the future, yet honour the past. I have a new found respect for MS Dhoni as a human being and believe he is probably going to be the one who would get us the next world cup. A friend of mine sent me this photograph (Thanks J) which beautifully captures the going out of Ganguly and the taking over of the helm by MS Dhoni.
Today, India beat the Australians 2-0 in a 4 test match series to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy. While that might be the thrilling enough to bring tears to most die-hard cricket fans in India, I was in tears for completely different reasons. Today was the last time we would see Sourav ganguly a.k.a the prince of Calcutta a.k.a dada take to the cricket field as a player of the Indian cricket squad. Ganguly has always been a personal favourite of mine for many reasons. But to see him take the field on the final day was quite emotional. A man who has been instrumental in making India a force to reckon with in international cricket was playing his last game.
What brought me to tears was what I saw at the start of the last days play; the entire team came all the way down to the boundary ropes and stopped. While I wondered why this was happening, I soon realised, we were paying our regards to India’s finest captains. Everyone stopped and waited for Saurav Ganguly to come and take the field first. He was symbolically leading this Indian team, his Indian team, for the last time. And it was at that precise moment, I don’t know what got the better of me, a single tear ran down either cheek. In my mind, this was the most beautiful thing I had seen in cricket.
As we inched closer to victory, MS Dhoni who had been leading the side, handed the reins over to Saurav Ganguly for perhaps the last time. It felt good to see Dada dish out field placements like in the old days. But since we were on the brink of victory, we didn’t catch him chewing away furiously on his nails. Once the game was won, the entire team lifted Ganguly on their shoulders and took him to the dressing room. This was another moment where I was certainly overwhelmed by emotion. I can only pray that when my time comes to go, I receive half the respect and admiration of what people like Ganguly and Kumble got on their last day as stalwart’s of Indian cricket for over a decade. It would be great to go out singing Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’.
Cheers Saurav! Thanks for taking us where we went! I am sure many youngsters in the team owe you a lot for vehemently supporting them through their ups and downs. Goodbye Saurav!!!
There was one more glorious moment at the end of the presentation. It wasn’t the fact that we lifted the trophy and to see Ricky Ponting being humble (Not one of his strong points), but it was the manner in which Dhoni accepted the trophy. He could have easily accepted it for himself; instead he chose to call Anil Kumble to accept the trophy along with him. Dhoni refused to pick up the cup until Kumble was there to take it too. This showed great maturity in MS Dhoni as a person. We all know about how Dhoni is, as far as cricketing tactics and playing is concerned, but today, what he did was far more than what cricket is all about. It’s more to do with what we as Indians are all about. This was perhaps the greatest display of our heritage as being people who will look to the future, yet honour the past. I have a new found respect for MS Dhoni as a human being and believe he is probably going to be the one who would get us the next world cup. A friend of mine sent me this photograph (Thanks J) which beautifully captures the going out of Ganguly and the taking over of the helm by MS Dhoni.
( Image: Courtesy: www.cricinfo.com)
Comments
(i finally got to watch youtube videos of what you were talking about .. was touching indeed)