23rd June, 2013. India were unbeaten going into the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy. They had come out on top in four games prior to the final without really breaking a sweat. A friend of mine asked me, “Kya lagta hai, jeet jaayegi India?” I thought, “Pakka jeetegi! Form dekha hai na?” But, I couldn’t say it out loud. No fan wants to risk a jinx.
I was confident on the inside. We had been at the top of our game in the group stages and the semi-final. Shikhar Dhawan was in imperious form and had made the tournament his own with 332 runs up until the final. It wasn’t a surprise, afterall, the tournament had ‘ICC’ in its title.
D-Day came and brought lots of rain along with it. The game was cut short to 20 overs a side, and I just remember watching in disbelief as we lost wickets at regular intervals and mustered a below-par total of 129/7.
I got a little bit of my voice back as we got rid of the English top-four with just 46 on the board. GAME ON!
From the rain delay to the tumbling of Indian wickets, from our fightback to the dangerous Morgan-Bopara partnership and to Ishant dismissing both of them off successive deliveries, I went through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions!
After Ishant’s twin strikes, I made sure nobody in my family moved. Nature’s call could wait for a little over two overs. And just how every superstition becomes believable when it happens, I knew I played a part in Jaddu picking up the wickets of Buttler and Bresnan in the penultimate over.
Ashwin took the ball in the final over and he did a commendable job to leave England with six to get from the final ball. Nerves. Nail-cutters felt like a useless invention at this point.
The final ball came, and the white Kookaburra spun past Tredwell’s swing. A man who nonchalantly uprooted a stump as a souvenir for any win, however big it was, was dancing and jumping in joy. That’s how much it meant to him. MS Dhoni was every Indian cricket fan at that moment.
It was a special tournament, and these pictures of the Indian squad celebrating with white jackets on will be cherished for a long long time.
23rd June, 2013. India were unbeaten going into the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy. They had come out on top in four games prior to the final without really breaking a sweat. A friend of mine asked me, “Kya lagta hai, jeet jaayegi India?” I thought, “Pakka jeetegi! Form dekha hai na?” But, I couldn’t say it out loud. No fan wants to risk a jinx.
I was confident on the inside. We had been at the top of our game in the group stages and the semi-final. Shikhar Dhawan was in imperious form and had made the tournament his own with 332 runs up until the final. It wasn’t a surprise, afterall, the tournament had ‘ICC’ in its title.
D-Day came and brought lots of rain along with it. The game was cut short to 20 overs a side, and I just remember watching in disbelief as we lost wickets at regular intervals and mustered a below-par total of 129/7.
I got a little bit of my voice back as we got rid of the English top-four with just 46 on the board. GAME ON!
From the rain delay to the tumbling of Indian wickets, from our fightback to the dangerous Morgan-Bopara partnership and to Ishant dismissing both of them off successive deliveries, I went through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions!
After Ishant’s twin strikes, I made sure nobody in my family moved. Nature’s call could wait for a little over two overs. And just how every superstition becomes believable when it happens, I knew I played a part in Jaddu picking up the wickets of Buttler and Bresnan in the penultimate over.
Ashwin took the ball in the final over and he did a commendable job to leave England with six to get from the final ball. Nerves. Nail-cutters felt like a useless invention at this point.
The final ball came, and the white Kookaburra spun past Tredwell’s swing. A man who nonchalantly uprooted a stump as a souvenir for any win, however big it was, was dancing and jumping in joy. That’s how much it meant to him. MS Dhoni was every Indian cricket fan at that moment.
It was a special tournament, and these pictures of the Indian squad celebrating with white jackets on will be cherished for a long long time.
