India - Performance, Passion and Determination took them to Glory - Cricket World Cup - iSport

From the iSport Cricket Pavilion: iSporter Aswath pens his feelings and thoughts on the Indian victory in World Cup 2011.

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April 2^nd 2011 will go down as one of the most important dates in Indian History. Afterall, cricket is more than a sport here, it's a religion!

The addition of this World Cup trophy to their cabinet makes India the only country to win the 60, 50 and 20 over World Cups. What an honour!

40 days before the first ball was bowled in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, I had written the following :-

"In the past, most people in India when asked to pick a favourite for the tournament, would say India invariably. Chances are that they were speaking from their heart more than from their head. If they gave you the same reply this time around, chances are that their hearts and their heads are in sync!"

Indeed. Their performance in the tournament was just proof of that.

India was such a balanced outfit and had everything in them to win the World Cup, and they did. The reasons are numerous. Apart from being a World Class outfit, the single minded determination to win the Cup really mattered. The team was driven by passion. They wanted the cup so desperately, more than ever before. That killer instinct was there. You could see a spark in everyone wanting to do well and ensure that India brought the trophy home.

This is only the third time that a side chasing in a World Cup final has won, in its 36 year history. Sri Lanka did it in 1996, Australia in 1999 and now India in 2011. Chasing 275 to win in a World Cup final is no mean achievement. The pressure levels would have been unimaginable. The Men In Blue (the lighter shade) would have felt as though they were sitting inside a pressure cooker. But that determination within the team to win, got them home. The people of the country were right behind them, egging them on every step of the way. This positive energy also played a big role in taking them to glory. 1.2 billion hearts were beating for those 11 men on the field.

Apart from that, there is a man by name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, whom the Nation adores. Sachin Tendulkar, has been a part of six World Cups now, and has finally got his hands on the one trophy that he wanted so badly. In all likelihood, this is his last World Cup and he has finally managed to get the trophy that eluded him for so long. His teammates had an immense role to play in this. They were playing for India and for Sachin. He is loved so much by his teammates that they were absolutely going nowhere without doing it for him. The post match celebrations tell the story.

All this was backed up by an amazing performance on the cricket field. India stepped up its game in the latter stages of the tournament, peaked at the right time, and cruised to glory. When you beat Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, comprehensively in the knockout stages of the tournament, you deserve to win the trophy.

On a lighter and an interesting note, India, in its last 4 games in the tournament had beaten the previous World Cup Champions in the same order in which they won - West Indies (1975,1979), Australia (1987), Pakistan (1992) and Sri Lanka (1996) to win the trophy. And to add more spice to it, the 1983 and 2011 calendars are exactly the same!

Destiny or Coincidence? I shall leave that one for you to decide.

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