2003 was a good year! Besides it being my 2nd year at the University of Manchester Accounting School, it was also the year of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. What made it so memorable was the fact, India almost did it...yup almost. They were awesome up until the Aussies proved them lacking. During that period of February through to March, I barely attended university and if I did, it was either on the days that India were not scheduled to play or being under the influence of alcohol...hehe..how typical!
I remember the day of India's first game against Holland and trying to find somewhere to watch it in the morning with no pubs open till after 11a.m. Amit Takyar (college friend & Wolves supporter) met me at a bus stop and our hunt began for somewhere to watch India begin their journey. After searching high and low, we came upon a Hilton coffee shop that was showing the game. The only reason we knew, was the fact that we saw the bright blue India supporters jerseys seated in eagerness. Amit and I were showing off our 1999 World Cup replica jerseys, which were bright blue and yellow and were impossible not to be noticed.
India had gone into the tournament with a squad made up with a blend of exciting youth and useful experience, with players such as Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Srinath and Kumble being the old horses and youngsters such as Parthiv Patel, Mohd Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. I honestly thought this was one of India's most experimental sides they had ever gone for and never expected too much out of the side but like many others, I was pleasantly surprised.
The start to the World Cup was a cautious yet victorious one but not without quite a few scares on the way. Throughout the match, Amit and I were just expecting the worst but thanks to the little master (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) and the our two old work horses (Srinath & Kumble), India managed a starting win but not convincing at all. First points...INDIA. This was also the first time viewers got the chance to see the great Indian huddle..a beautiful sight!
On 15th February, India were brought back down to earth by the defending champs. Australia were pumped and it showed by the way they man handled the Blue Brigade. They didn't stand a chance especially after being bowled out for for under 130. Thank god, I wasn't around Manchester to witness India's failure in the batting department, thanks to my girl friend at the time, who wanted me to take her away for Valentine's Day and so I did, to the birthplace of William Shakespeare (BORING)..but anyways..
What a blow that was..phew..i wasn't there to see it. Comeback time!!! Next opponents...Zimbabwe. This was one of those very facile wins for Team India. Tendulkar doing the bulk of the scoring, with Ganguly and others chipping in. This was followed by the Men in Blue finishing the job by bowling out the opposition for under 175 with everyone helping themselves to wickets, including Ganguly.
India vs Namibia was a one sided affair with Tendulkar and Ganguly running riot and taking the match away from the opposition, without Namibia even having a chance to have a bat. The Namibians were bowled out for a paltry 130 with the majority of the wickets going to YUVI with figures of 4.3-2-6-4....WOW.
The game between the Men in Blue and England was to be a cracker and it was as India coasted to an 82-run win. Tendulkar provided the initial burst, with Dinesh Mongia and Sehwag adding to the scoring. But it was left to Rahul Dravid and YUVI put the whipped cream and cherry on top of India's innings, scoring 62 and 42 respectively. Exemplary bowling, including a career-best six for 23 from Ashish Nehra, unstitched England under the lights, and India were virtually through to the Super Sixes while England's progress was less assured. To see Ashish Nehra bowl the way he did, getting up to speeds of 89mph was quite a sight, but what topped it, was seeing Amit Takyar take off his India top and swinging it like a madman just like Sourav Ganguly did at Lords when India miraculously won the Natwest Series Final in 2002...the alcohol definitely played a part.
If you think the night was over then...uh NO! This was one of those nights that just gets you thinking...WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Shefali (my sister) was in town and decided to watch the game with us (Amit & I). First of all, Shefali fell weak in the beginning of the day and fainted in the bathroom of the Springbok but thank god...Aal Izz Well!! After the game, we were walking hone when near Hathersage Road, a car pulled up with 5 Asians coming out and lashing out at Amit & I, with Amit ending up with a bruised eye and me, a bruised rib. Bet no one was expecting that? Well it happened and nothing came of it, with us running for help and the police not able to find the owners of who drove the car..What I remember of that night is one of the attacking lads shouting and saying " WE DON'T LIKE THIS INDIAN "£%$&^*!??" Like they say..JO HO GAYA SO HO GAYA...move on so let's do just that.
March 1, 2003...India vs Pakistan. This one was what the World Cup was about. India and Pakistan had met over and over again at the World Cup, with India being on top every time. Was history going to be repeated? After the Pakistan innings, bets would have probably been on Pakistan after posting a 270 plus score with Saeed Anwar doing what he does best...TORMENTING INDIA with another century, but thank god nothing similar to his then world record score of 194 (beaten by none other than..YES! the little master). This was one of those days I wasn't wearing my India top as I didn't wanna tempt fate so kept on the low watching the match with a group of guys at the Hilton coffee shop. Once the Pakistan innings ended, I just couldn't help myself and had to watch the match back at my usual place...THE SPRINGBOK. Walked into the Springbok to find my usual crew at our usual table, with the drinks pouring like a natural waterfall. The pub was was filled to the brim with India supporters, with a handful of Pakistanis on a small table in the middle, hoping the best.
What I witnessed that day was probably the best of Sachin Tendulkar I'd ever seen at a World Cup. He pulled, cut and drove the Pakistani bowlers all over the park that was made up of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi. He ended up with a 75 ball 98, but that wasn't all that she wrote as after Sehwag was dismissed, Waqar dismissed Ganguly for first ball duck leaving India in a spot of bother. From then on, it was all India, as Mohd Kaif settled the innings followed by Rahul Dravid and YUVI finishing things off with enough deliveries to spare. The highlight of the match was probably the front foot defensive push Sachin played off Shoaib to the long on boundary..what a player!!!
Time for the super sixes part of the tournament. I happened not to be in Manchester for this match as a large group of us students were on a KPMG sponsored trip to the Lake District or Peak District...I forget. I drove to the venue with my 3 idiots (Amit, Ross & Lamine) and wow what a place it was. We had a great room but the weekend was filled with accounting work to be done...but who wants to talk about that. That was the trip I got to know Priya Shah (another one of those meeting that could have turned into something but ended up been a lot of nothing).
India were up against the underdogs; Kenya. It wasn't a brilliant bowling performance but a restricting one where Kenya were only able to put up a score of 225 but that score wasn't as easy as the Indians thought with Tendulkar and Sehwag being dismissed cheaply. This world cup was a great one because the Team India you got to see was a different one. It wasn't dependent on one player i.e Tendulkar. Everyone was raising their hand and putting in an effort as shown by Ganguly (107 not out), Dravid (32) and YUVI (58 not out), who all scripted an important win for the Men in Blue.
One super six win already in the bank, India's next opponents were the 1996 champions, Sri Lanka. India needed an all-round performance and they did just that with the Men in Blue piling on 292 with Tendulkar (97), Sehwag (66) and Ganguly (48) doing the bulk of scoring and then the 3 Indian seamers proving to be way too powerful for the Lanka Lions, with Srinath and Nehra taking four wickets each and Zack attack taking two wickets himself, with India winning by a mammoth 183 runs.
India vs New Zealand is always an intriguing encounter. It was India's powerful batting line up against the raw pace of Shane Bond, all-round batting of Fleming, McCullum, Astle, Cairns and Styris in addition to their exemplary fielding skills. To my surprise, I was witness to an almighty bowling display, especially from Zaheer Khan, who returned with figures of 8-0-42-4, earning him the Man of the Match award. The India band wagon was marching and now it was time for the semi-finals...just one step away from the first final since the victorious 1983 final.
There was no way I was going to miss the last 2 matches of the 2003 World Cup, especially with India actually having a more than possible chance of winning their first World Cup since the memorable 1983 final against the West Indies and to top it off, I could actually witness it. But first things first, semi-final opponents, Kenya. We had beaten them before but not without a hiccup or two on the way and they did have Collins Obuya, a decent enough leg spinner , who extracted quite a bit of turn. India won the toss and decide to bat. As usual, Tendulkar put up a decent score for himself, adding 83 to India's total of 270. But how could I forget, Ganguly, who seemed to be enjoying the Kenyan attack and added a second consecutive century against the same attack. This time, the Indian captain was more severe than the last, hitting five monstrous sixes during his innings. India then bowled the opposition out for 179 with Zaheer Khan taking 3 for 14 in his 9 overs and the little master taking accounting for two scalps himself. The only worrying factor here was India's 39 extras made of 15 wides (second highest scorer for Kenya); would that be a problem in the final???
It didn't matter, India were in the final. I couldn't believe it. I was jumping for joy. This was quite a grudge match as there was quite a large population of Indians at Manchester University, who initially supported India but were in fact, Kenyan (including my girl friend at the time...YIKES).
The final was set for the 23rd March 2003 and boy, WAS I READY??? The evening before the morning of the game was just preparation for the game. Getting more and more excited. I had friends come over, have dinner and just drink, while watching India v Australia 2001, India v England Natwest Final 2002, India v Pakistan 1992, 1996 and 1999. We drank to the early hours of the morning and then showered still filled with alcohol and all my crew headed to the Springbok. But before that, I donned my India top, put on the tri-colour face paint and the India bandana. Got in and started back on the beers.
Toss won by India, and they decided to field. Would this be it? An ominous start, with Zaheer Khan starting of with a wide and eventually ending up with 2no-balls and 6wides. Gilchrist and Hayden got off to a ferocious start, with Ponting and Martyn piling on the rest with a 234 run partnership. End of innings...359 for 2...WOW. How would India approach this? Aggression was what was needed and Tendulkar started in that manner with a boundary of Glen McGrath, only to be caught and bowled straight after..OUCH...that hurt. India on the back foot on the onset. This was the way the innings went for the inexperienced Men in Blue with only Sehwag, Dravid, YUVI and Ganguly providing any sort of resistance.
The only funny moment during the game was when rain intervened and everyone in the pub starting to sing Ghanana Ghanana from Lagaan hoping that the rain would persist and get heavier. Why were we praying for rain? More rain would have led to the match being replayed on a reserve day from scratch..but alas no luck here. To top that off I did meet 3 Australian guys who were very good to talk to and super sports. The innings capitulated for 234 in just over 39 overs. Australia were crowned World Champions....well deserved I thought.
India were so close yet so far. At least Sachin got the Man of the Series but what started as a tournament where there was no expectation, turned into belief that a nation, where cricket is a religion, were on the verge of being World Champions only to disappoint at the very end. I can only hope that I will be able to witness the Men in Blue win a World Cup..2011? You never know...
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