I am World # 1

On the second of April, 2011 in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India, the Indian cricket team recreated history when they defeated a vibrant Sri Lankan cricket team, in the finals of the One Day International World Cup 2011 championship. India is now the number one cricket team in the world. We are the champions! We are the # 1, and so am I!

The world cup this time, started on 19th of February and the opening game was between India and Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I remember me and my wife in front of the TV watching the players come together for the national anthems. Probably this was the first time that two nations who were competing with each other, were singing their respective national anthems, both of which were written by the same person, Rabindranath Tagore. Probably we felt it more because we are Bengalis too, and it was a proud moment for Bengalis, either side of the border.

The first ball of the tournament was hit for a four, by Sehwag and India won, as expected. Since then, there were lots of happenings in the world cup. India won after 28 years of long wait. Sachin Tendulkar, at the end of his grand career would have expected nothing more than this. He successfully achieved his greatest dream and he said, “This is the proudest moment of my life!” The small personal medal he got yesterday, for being the world champions along with the other team members, probably is the most prized possession of the little champion in his entire cricketing life. This made his career a perfect one, with almost all the batting records under his belt, Sachin is the number one, and so is Team India and with them, all of us – the proud citizens of India! We are all numero uno today. The last ball of the tournament was hit by Dhoni, for a Six!

India beat Sri Lankans in the final. Sri Lankans played awesome throughout the championship and were unbeaten only to lose to India in the finals. Mahela Jayawardane scored an unbeaten century in the finals and put up a great total on board, which did not prove to be enough for the mighty Indians! Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 500 runs in the tournament and was the leading run scorer. Sachin scored 482, second highest and highest by the Indian team.

In the semifinal, India beat Pakistan and what a match it was. All the fans of the two countries wanted their team to win that game; even wining the final was immaterial to the fans. Sahid Afridi, the captain took the highest number of wickets in the tournament, along with Zaheer Khan of India, with 21 wickets each. There was whole lot of politics involved in the match, which saw delegates from both the countries sitting together in Mohali and watching the match. India kept the record of winning all their world cup matches against Pakistan. The festivities across the country were much more than the celebrations after yesterday’s win. Pakistan played well and gave a good fight.

In the quarterfinal, India beat the awful Aussies and there is not much to talk about that team. Ponting should retire and the entire team should learn a lesson which tells that mere sledging cannot keep you at the top for long, if you do not know how to play good cricket.

In the group stage, India lost to South Africa. That match was a winner for India right from the start of the match, but some impressive batting by the Africans took it out of the reach of India. India tied with England and that is another record! Every time, India won major tournaments in the last decade, they have tied one match in the qualifiers!

Bangladesh and Ireland beat England in the group matches, but none of them could qualify for the knock-out round. England did well in the other matches and qualified, only to lose to Sri Lanka in the quarters. New Zealand beat South Africa to get to the semis and Sri Lanka beat them there too.

Overall, it was an excellent world cup this time and I am very happy to have watched most of the matches even in this busy schedule. There were giant screens installed in our office, like many other places, where we could see the quarter final and semifinal. The final was yesterday, a Saturday and I could watch it from home, along with my wife. It was an awesome experience. Last time when India won the World Cup, I was 2 and she was 1 year old. Now, we know how it feels!

Thank you guys, for the gift! It’s my father’s birthday in a couple of days from today and he will be much happy to be world champion at this age!

There were so many things that people circulated through SMS all the while the tournament was on going, telling India would win and all that has become a reality now. The best of all those was that the year 1983, when India won the world cup last time, is exactly same as this year, 2011. Both started on a Saturday and every other date fits in exactly the same.

Whatever said and done, it is one of the best feelings to be the World Champions! India deserves this. In the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India has done tremendously well. They have won the T-20 World cup and the ODI world cup. India is now the # 1 team in both ODI and Test Cricket. Awesome!

We are the Best!

Awesome India! Wonderful Team India! Incredible India!

Enjoy and keep the spirit up. We need to keep the world cup with us and get ready for World Cup 2015 to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Till then, be proud and just enjoy!