World Cup 2019 - The dream ends

I woke up to a morning which no other Indian fan would have liked to wake up to. Chasing a modest total India were 100-odd for six wickets. There was a faint ray of hope however in the form of Jadeja and Dhoni. An hour later when I reached the office that ray of hope burnt like a flame when the partnership brought the target down to about 40 runs. But it didn't last much longer when everything was snuffed out in the matter of a few deliveries.

2019 World Cup Semifinal: When Jadeja and Dhoni kept us in the hunt <Courtesy: ICC>

The first thing I did after the match was to attend my morning meeting, thinking that only some positivity in the form of work would allow me to drown the negativity of this defeat. The next thing I did was to reach out to my brother whom I knew had watched the match in its entirety. I also tried to console my best friend who was disconsolate that India had come so close only to lose the match. I naturally felt bad for the disappointment they experienced but I found that the heaviness in my heart dissipated when I shared their dismay.

Today, I take time to remember that little kid who was heartbroken when India lost to Australia by a single run, that boy who was grief stricken when India collapsed like a heap before Sri Lankan spin, that teenager who was anguished by what Henry Olonga's magic did to India and that youth who was mortified that India didn't couldn't even survive the group stage in the 2007 World Cup. We Indian fans have been through a lot but as a grown man today I shall not allow myself to dwell for too long over a game. A lot of things in this life are transient, while this defeat is painful it doesn't change anything in the grand scheme of things. The future of Indian Cricket is secure with some good players and the future of our country and this world is secure with all of us.

In closing, my heart goes out to all the hardcore Indian Cricket Fans out there who invest their time, money, hopes and emotions to see India over the line every time. The sorrow you feel is unimaginable but I urge you to support your fellow countrymen who are grieving just the way you are. Let not hatred of any kind diminish the festivity and joie de vivre you brought to this world cup. Each and everyone of us is a representative of this great country, let's move on from this and prove that bigger things are ours to be.

Until Next Time,

Your Fellow Cricket Fan,

J.J. Chaitanya

PS:

We didn't find a settled middle order, we weren't able to accelerate in the final overs and whenever the big guns failed we struggled. We never really addressed our frailties, guess this result was always on the cards.
In the evening today, I went to my scrabble club and lost a game by 19 points. The last wicket for India fell with 19 runs more to get, in defeat I paid my tribute once again to the Indian Team of World Cup 2019.
After returning home, I had a conversation with my mother who had watched the entire match along with my brother and father. When I asked her whether she was disappointed, she smiled and said, "No, we gave our best and took it till the end. That's the only thing which matters!" I couldn't argue with that sentiment and silently marveled at her wisdom.

So long folks! The dream was good as long as it lasted. Now's the time for another dream.

Comments

Zamarrud Theatre Hyderabad

More than two decades ago a 5 year old boy (yours truly) found himself in Abids which was certainly then the microcosm of Hyderabad. Abids in the 80s <Courtesy: OkaTeluguAbbayi > The occasion was a family outing to Zamarrud Cinema. And we are stepping out for not just any movie my friends, my parents decided that nothing less than the Raj Kapoor blockbuster Chori Chori was good enough for us. To be honest I wasn't exactly enthused about watching a black and white film of a bygone era even though the movie had all the credentials of a classic. But that was before I saw Zamarrud, the theatre where the movie was being played. Nested in the heart of Abids, Zamarrud was the perfect amalgamation of Hyderabad's old world charm and new fangled ways. Zamarrud was not just any theatre, it was one of the first air conditioned halls in Hyderabad, a premiere cinema hall which used to host the best of what the film industry had to offer and the place to go for Hyderabad...

The Punisher (2004)

There are very few movies which make for a fun repeat watch. The 2004 version of ' The Punisher ' belongs to this rarefied category. I watched the movie almost 10 years ago and then caught up with it again last month. The plot twists were familiar the second time around but the fun was still the same. That's what probably got me started off on this movie review. Tom Jane as 'The Punisher' The Plot: When the younger son of mafia boss Howard Saint ( John Travolta ) gets killed in an FBI operation headed by Frank Castle ( Tom Jane ), Saint swears revenge and wipes out Castle's entire family. Castle himself barely survives before emerging from his injuries as the crusading 'Punisher'. 'The Punisher' resolves to extract payback from Saint and proceeds to punish everyone on the wrong side of law with his brand of justice. Will 'The Punisher' succeed (Of course he does)? Watch this lesser talked about installment from the Marvel Cinematic Un...

KBR National Park

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fifth largest city in India - Hyderabad lies KBR (Kasu Brahmananda Reddy) National Park . It's difficult to imagine a natural habitat in the center of a concrete jungle but that's exactly what KBR park is - an oasis in middle of an urban desert . One of Hyderabad's prized tourist attractions which in my opinion doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Entrance <Courtesy: Andhra Aroma > I don't remember when I first noticed the park but it soon became a sight which I couldn't miss during the course of my everyday commute to work. I always wondered what lay beyond the entrance but never found the time to check it out for myself until last year. But let me back up a bit, there's a back story to my first visit to the park. In my ' Count Your Blessings ' post, I talked about how a walk around my office building started a positive change in my life. That incident made ' walking ' ...

10 Random Things about the First IPL

It's IPL time, the time of the year where cricket turns from a gentleman's game into a three ringed circus for the stars, the people and the players. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 long years since the IPL started but I just seem to remember it like yesterday. As soon I thought about the first IPL I remembered some tight finishes, some great performances, raw emotion, glamour that was on display and some utterly forgettable moments. So here are 10 random things I remember about the first IPL: Teams of the first IPL <Courtesy: Reddit > Akshay Kumar , the brand ambassador (Oh! the brand ambassadors was one way franchises burnt their hard earned money during the first IPL) for Delhi Daredevils (DD) zip-lined his way into the ground for an IPL match. DD followed his example of daredevilry all throughout the league phase before their stunt went all wrong crashing them into the ground in the semis . Ricky Ponting (yes he p...

Vera Cruz (1954)

The road to my 25th post had to go through Vera Cruz . Nothing fuels one's imagination quite like a rivalry between two evenly matched foes. As a kid I often wondered who would win if Superman squared off against He-Man and Batman took on Spider-Man. The quest for engaging rivalries and unique match-ups took a life of its own when I discovered sport. Who would win a rematch between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer ? Can Manny Pacquiao KO Floyd Mayweather ? Will Justin Gatlin ever outrun Usain Bolt ? Whenever a match-up lived up to its potential (See Bibo V/S Kumar ) it became a memory to treasure. Magical rivalries however are not limited to sport and comics alone they have a unique place in movies too. Vera Cruz takes that rivalry to a brand new level by pitting an ultra-aggressive Burt Lancaster against an ice cool Gary Cooper (both of them incidentally are in the Top 25 actors list of AFI ). But before going into the intricacies of the film we should explore the backg...

Life Etc Etc

Search This Blog