India’s victory, among other things, was a fitting tribute to Sachin Tendulkar who was playing his sixth world cup. Despite almost all conceivable batting records under his belt, one feather that was missing from his otherwise illustrious cap was a world cup victory. That it happened when he was playing probably his last world cup and in front of his home crowd in Mumbai almost makes it look like the gods had written the script of this world cup keeping just him in mind. The victory also amply proved how big a role the leader has in making a team successful. Dhoni not only led from the front with an unbeaten 91 when the team was in a spot of bother, but also cemented his place as one of India’s greatest captains by leading his country to a second world cup victory, the first being in the T20 format in 2007.
This world cup also marked the end of Australia, that had won three consecutive world cups starting from 1999, as an invincible cricketing force in world cups and it might take a while before the team from Down Under regains the glory of its recent past. South Africa once again lived up to its reputation of being chokers, losing to New Zealand in a quarter-final match that should have been won easily. The Pakistanis were the surprise package, but they lost in the semi-finals against the eventual winners and they will have to continue to carry the burden of never having won against India in the world cups for at least another four years. From outside the top eight, the Bangladeshis were impressive but it was evident that it still has quite some work to do before becoming a force to reckon with. Ireland captivated the fans with gutsy performances and must have forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to seriously consider about providing some route for the associate countries to make it to the 10-nation world cup planned for 2015 in Australia.
Finally, for once, excuse us to blow our own trumpet. Despite a few surprises such as Pakistan’s amazing run up to the semi-finals and the Kiwis booking a place in the semi-finals, one thing that was fairly consistent was our paper’s predictions. Here, for instance, is what we had written when the world cup started. “…it would not be off the mark to put one’s money on India simply because Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men are playing under conditions that they like and enjoy, and, on most instances, have the home advantage.” Well, along with all the Indian supporters out there, that gives us a reason to celebrate as well. Have fun and, rest assured, we all are having too!
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