It was a last over, an over which was going to decide the fate of the match. He was standing at 3rd?Man. He had batted brilliantly in the 1st?session and was fielding like a 17 year old whole evening. Match was evenly balanced. Some reckless bowler gave 4 lollipops to an average looking batsman and he scripted a famous victory for his team. The man was shocked to say the least. He went back to the pavilion with a desire to win the Cup on his own.
Unfortunately neither the bowler nor the skipper showed any feeling of guilt or disappointment on their faces. No one showed the guts to take the ball and bowl the last over as he did in 1993-94 against the same opponents at Eden Gardens. He has all the records in his kitty right from being the highest scorer in both the forms of the game
He has 99 international centuries, a feat which no Cricketer will ever come close to in his life time.? He is the only player to score a double hundred in ODI cricket but there is one thing missing in his life. A dream he has treasured since he entered the beautiful ground of Shivaji Park . A dream of very Indian? no matter whether he is a Maharashtrian, Gujarati, Bihari and so on. It?s that coveted trophy ?THE WORLD CUP?.
There are those fortunate souls who were able to witness the magic in 1983 when he was only 10 years old. He has played in 6 world cups but still the Dream is not fulfilled. He has given his best in every World Cup and was every close to fulfill his dream around 8 years back. After playing for his country and giving his best for over two decades now the age is taking toll on him.
The reflexes are not the same; the power in the fore -arms is diminishing but still the hunger, zeal and passion of playing for his country keeps him going. This is his last World Cup, I hope that he plays dozen more but you have to be realistic. ?The Final is in his birth place. He is giving his best this time around also but unfortunately he is not getting enough support from his team mates.
He is playing superbly scoring centuries, hitting boundaries and sixes. His teammates are also talented but they are not able to perform at their best till date. But still there is a chance for come back. Chance to create History, to make the nation happy and win the World Cup for him as they promised him and county before the battle started.