By Kulbhushan Kain
Rewind to 25 June, 1983. The setting – Lords, the Mecca of Cricket. The occasion – India playing the West Indies in the final of the World Cup Cricket (then called the Prudential Cup).
Among the millions of spectators watching, was a young school master whose kind Principal, Mr Bharadwaj, had given 2 days casual leave to travel to his bungalow in Clement Town to watch the final on television. I had pleaded, “Sir I don’t have a TV here in Rai. In Clement Town, my house caretaker has a TV with a big screen.”
He had smiled and said, “Drive safely when you return. The result may disappoint you.”
Yes, I was travelling on my Vespa scooter from Rai (Sonepat District) to Dehradun via Shamli and Saharanpur, and Mr Bharadwaj was worried that I put away from my mind what he thought was an impending defeat to the West Indies. After all – who in the right frame of mind would have thought that we could defeat a team that boasted of the greatest fast bowlers ever produced – Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding. They were led by one of the most successful Captains, Clive Llyod, and boasted arguably the best batsmen ever – Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Llyod himself, and Vivian Richards.
And yet – like a dream unfolding layer by layer into reality before my eyes – we beat them. I remember what my Principal told me after I returned, “I was going to send someone to accompany you back to school. The excitement of winning is far more dangerous for driving than the sadness of losing.”
Forty years later, it was a different scenario. Our cricket team appeared as invincible as the West Indies team of 1983. We had crushed every team in the run up to the final. We had won 10 on 10 matches on a trot. Our bowlers were unplayable. Our batsmen never looked like getting out. Our team bordered on being arrogant. In sharp contrast to 1983, the who’s who of India were present at Ahmedabad – including the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Chief Ministers, film stars, the Ambanis, Sadguru… you name them and they were there. Everyone wanted to have a piece of the victory cake…
Yet, we were crushed. Yes, make no mistake – we were comprehensively beaten, with 7 overs to spare.
What happened?
First – let’s not forget , that cricket is “a game of glorious uncertainties”. When Bradman came to bat needing just 4 runs to have an average of the unthinkable 100 runs per innings – he was bowled for a duck. It is a game that Sir Gary Sobers once famously said ‘’makes one feel like a king one day, and a beggar the next”. It is a game whose tagline for this world cup read “All it takes, is one day”.
It was not India’s day. Period.
But why was it not India’s day?
Australia essentially won the game between the 11th to the 50th over during which India scored only 4 boundaries. Out of those 4, two came from the bats of Bumrah and Siraj who in cricket parlance are called “rabbits” –tailenders who are easy to shoot when the spotlight is on them.
The moment Pat Cummings won the toss and took the risk of batting second, I think Rohit Sharma knew that we were at a disadvantage. The wicket was toughest to bat on in the first 50 overs. Surprisingly, in the second innings, after the first few overs in the Australian chase – it turned into a beauty to bat on. The ball started coming on to the bat nicely, there was no turn and Travis Head played the innings of his life. Throughout India’s innings, only one narrative was doing the rounds – in the commentary box and social media, alike, and on my Facebook posts. If no dew, 240 is a competitive total. If no dew, 240 would be like 320. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja would eat them up. Both spinners went wicketless and there was almost little to no dew. Australia cantered home with seven overs to spare.
Of course, there will be many “ifs” and “buts”. What if India had won the toss? What if Travis Head had not taken the “catch of the century” to dismiss Rohit Sharma? What if Kohli had not dragged the ball onto his stumps? What if KL Rahul had accelerated and taken the battle to the Aussies camp? Why was Suryakumar playing the way he did? But “ifs” and “buts” don’t help. If they did, then “if” my Uncle had been a woman – he would have been my Aunty!
Frankly, the real reason for India losing, was a difficult wicket to bat on in the beginning in which only four boundaries were scored in the final 40 overs. At one point, it had become so irritating that even singles were being egged on like a Rohit pull shot for six.
When Australia batted – the wicket became easy. It was as if one was batting on a different pitch. Maybe there was moisture in the first 50 overs which dried up under the lights and sun hence became firmer.
This loss hurts. To be honest, I have never been able to reconcile to the idea that after all “it’s only a sport”. Cricket is India’s soft power, a great unifier. It is a religion. The entire nation has plunged into collective grief. As the dust settles– we will move on. But on the day after the loss – it hurts like hell. By the time we get another chance to try getting the cup, some of our greats will have gone – Rohit, Kohli, Shami, Ashwin…
The balm to the wounds came from cricket enthusiast and friend Aloke Lal who wrote on my Facebook page, “The best team did not finish first”.
Reassuring words because Asoke knows his cricket well.
Let there be no doubt – our boys gave it their best shot.
It was not their day.
(Kulbhushan kain is an award winning educationist with more than 4 decades of working in schools in India and abroad. He is a prolific writer who loves cricket, travelling and cooking. He can be reached at kulbhushan.kain@gmail.com)
