We are the ICC World Cup Champions!!!

Euphoria ! Bliss! Unparalleled joy! Bonheur ! Felicidad! 11 people on the ground made 1.2 billion people in the country and 1.6 billion people around the world feel all this and more with their stupendous performance in the World cup and specially, in the final.

The final lived up to its billing of being a humdinger between 2 sub-continent teams on a pitch that was tailor made for both teams - a great batting track that took a bit of spin. The match started on a controversial note with no one sure what happened at the toss. If India had lost the game, many would have surely pointed fingers at the toss. Nevertheless, Sangakara won the toss and batted first. The start favored the Indians with Lanka tottering at 60/2 in the 18th over but what everyone witnessed after that was a thorough masterclass performance from probably the most elegant batsman in the World right now - Mahela Jayawardena. I couldn't but help but marvel at the way he caressed the bowl with delightful touch and wrist work on his way to what looked like a match winning century. Mahela's Mahila(his wife, bad joke but not mine!) asking him to stay at the crease after he reached his 50 was an endearing sight and he turned out to be an obedient husband, much to the chagrin of every Indian! As Ian Chappell pointed out, he batted as if he wanted to protect the cover of the ball. The Indian bowling , including the joint leading wicket taker,incomparable Zaheer Khan suffered at the hands of this master and his students. Sri Lanka set up a very very challenging total with 63 coming off the last 5 overs. 275 was the target. A target that had never been chased in any World cup final.The highest total that was successfully chased at the Wankhede under lights was 227. Add the pressure to that and 275 probably looked like a gargantuan 300. Any other match, any other final , this would have been a winning total but not today! 33,000 fans in the stadium prayed and a billion prayed outside the stadium for a Tendulkar century and an Indian win . The former didn't happen but the latter did!

Malinga looked fierce and snapped Sehwag and the God himself, Sachin. Nervousness reached its peak. No finger nail left on any finger. People shifting around nervously to find their "positions" to make sure that the stars were happy with the Indian chase. There were still 5 recognized batsmen. There was Rajni in the stadium that allayed fears of millions of Indians!Add Aamir to that and a cricket fan said you cannot lose when both of them are in the stadium!

Cometh the man, Cometh the hour. There were 2 of them in this case for India. First, the bicycle loving( my friend calls him a bicycle coz' he keeps jumping out of the crease and doesn't know when to stop running!) Gautam Gambhir, whose every over first ball charge worked along with Virat "goggle" Kohli. They ran very hard between the wickets and played with cool heads that belied their age and experience. The Lankan attack looked confused, even the ever reliable Murali struggling to bowl well, slightly aided by the dew. Second, was our very own charismatic, master strategist, the biggest gambler of the team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni who walked in after Kohli fell. People were surprised because they expected Yuvi, the man of the hour to walk in. Dhoni was short of runs, was criticized for his batting, was completely out of sorts with less than 160 runs in the tournament.

Not for nothing is he the most respected cricketer in the country after Tendulkar. He stamped his authority on the match with a fantastic, fabulous, brilliant, outstanding knock. Leading from the front just got a new meaning altogether! He ran fast, looked dehydrated, didn't give up, ran even faster, showed his emotion just once, hit the ball harder than anyone, had an offside helicopter shot and finally ended the game with a massive six.

Both Gambhir and Dhoni were fantastic and led India to a World Cup victory after 28 years. The scenes that followed were hysterical, fans went nuts, the players ran all around (except Munaf!) Insane SMSes followed - one being "Anhoni ko honi kar de, honi ko unhoni, ek jagah jab jama ho teeno, rajani, ghajani aur Dhoni!!" Sachin went around on the victory lap on his teammates' shoulders. Kohli said "Sachin carried the nation's hopes for 21 years, its time we carry him". Dhoni was as frank as ever at the post match conference even admonishing Gambhir for getting out on 97! As Dhoni lifted the World Cup and the champagne flowed, the heart of every Indian sang "Maa, Tujhe Salaam"! People flooded the streets with gay abandon, fireworks lit up the April sky, strangers celebrated wildly with each other, danced and shouted at traffic junctions high fiving one and all who went by. The celebrations continued and will continue(rightly so!) for ages to come. The pictures of the Indian cricket team holding aloft the cup that mattered the most will be etched forever in memory. Its also an Ugadi/Gudi Padwa gift to people celebrating these festivals.

Finally,Dhoni for President ????? I think he will be a super duper president if and when he becomes one!! Bharat mata ki jai!!! Celebrate India! Jai ho!

The Signs of Four

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and surprise , surprise, New Zealand are the semi finalists. Its a celebration for the sub continent teams as all of them came through in conditions most favorable to them . Whereas India outclassed Australia in a close ,tense match, Pakistan and Sri Lanka demolished the West Indies and England respectively. Biggest upset though was caused by the Kiwis . The South Africans simply collapsed as is their forte. Apparently, its come to a stage where every time there is a knock out , SA just collapse. The media, their opponents, the crowd - no one allows them to forget the dreaded 'C' word. Lets not take anything away from the Kiwis though. Lets look at the first semi -final then, between the Lankans and Kiwis.By the way, its their 6th World Cup semifinal . Exceptional for a country with just 4 million people and cricket not being their primary sport! Its like having a cricket team comprised of players from Jayanagar, Basavangudi, Indiranagar, Malleshwaram and Koramangala!

The visitors face an extremely challenging task of playing at the dancing and partying Premadasa, which is also THE Lanka fort! Home pressure also counts for something as was evident when the Lankans dropped Morgan 3 times but their superior batting led them through .

From the Kiwis side, Ryder and Taylor hold the key. Brendon Mccullum has promised much but delivered so little. Their lower middle order with the young but extremely talented Williamson, the quarter final man of the match, Jacob Oram and the captain himself, Vettori is very much capable of piling up the runs but can the big question is whether they can do it against Lanka's spin. Sri Lanka like in the quarter finals , will surely field 3 spinners and tackling them might be really tough on a slow and low wicket tailor made for the home team. Add Malinga's slingas to the mix and the entire match might be decided by whether the Kiwis will be able to handle Lanka's bowling.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka's top order is in unbelievable form - Dilshan, Tharanga and the golden 2 - Sanga and Mahela - with the top 3 in the top 5 scorers' list of this World Cup but if the Kiwis are somehow able to get through to the middle order , then the game might turn out to be interesting. The Kiwis won't forget the 2007 World Cup when they started off excellently but were done in by a Mahela Jayawardene master class. As always, Mahela and their inspirational captain Kumara Sanagakara are the key predators in their line up. Much will also depend on the field placements off Vettori . Having atleast 6-7 extremely athletic and flexible fielders would surely save 10-20 runs for the Kiwis but field placements are the key. On the bowling front, the black caps will field 3 spinners in Vettori , the younger and currently more accomplished Mccullum and I forget the 3rd bloke. It is going to be a battle between spin of the 2 sides and Lanka's top order vs Kiwis' middle and lower middle order!

Best way for Kiwis to pull off an upset (again)? - Taylor/Mccullum tackle Lanka's spinners and the Kiwi bowlers get the top 4 of Lanka out before the half way mark.

Best way for Lanka to pull off a victory - Top order tears apart Kiwis' bowling . Mahela and Sanga milk their bowling with their spinners going on the prowl during their bowling stint and Malinga running through the lower order.

Key questions - Will Muralidaran play ? Can the Lankans soak in the home pressure and the Kiwis' dare devil attitude to conquer ? We will know in the next 24 hours but If I have to put my money on one of the teams, it has got to be Sri Lanka with a 64% chance . You ask me how ? Well, I ran a complex algorithm starting with the Diffie Hellman Algorithm followed by running the player's statistics against a complex statistical analyser. Do you want to know more ???

Anyway, the stage is set then for a very colorful 1st semi final ,which is almost a blessing in disguise especially because the entire world is probably looking at the 2nd one!