Light Up Those Firecrackers

ICC Twenty20 World Champions- India

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

India! India! What an absolutely fantastic performance. I'm still not over it. God, I'm so so happy. I can't stop jumping up and down and my voice is now all hoarse from screaming out loud. But what a win. It's something I'll remember forever and ever. A memory to carry with me and it must be so much more exciting for those guys who actually went out there and won it for us. The balance would keep shifting and so would my emotions. I would go from absolute joy to wild hope to the depths of despair. And all in the space of a couple of overs.

My only regret is that India won by a mistake and not by a burst of brilliance as such. However on the other hand, India deserved to win. Simply because they hung in there and didn't lost their nerve. They just refused to lose.

The bowling performance by India especially RP Singh and Irfan Pathan!! They bowled their hearts out. And the fielding was superlative. Robin Uthappa's direct hit for the run out was beautiful to watch. Though I was kinda letdown when he dropped Misbah-Ul-Haq and I thought that maybe he had dropped the World Cup too.

I wasn't too happy with Sreesanth's bowling though, nothing like that against Australia and he gave away way too many runs, but he more than made up for it by taking those catches. And I think he will improve with experience.

RP Singh on the other hand. He didn't put a foot wrong. Every time he was brought on to bowl, he pulled something to bring India back in the game. He's India's latest hope and my new Poster Boy!!!! He's improved with each and every game. He brings in something every time.

I'm so so pumped. I wish I was out there right now. I was just about ready to begin mourning when Misbah was on strike and then he played that shot. And I absolutely exploded. As did the Wanderers and the Rest of India, I'm sure. Now it's time to burst those crackers and go completely wild.

Pakistan bowled brilliantly and so did India. Both teams batting line ups let them down though. Spare a thought for Rohit Sharma though. His 30 off 16 balls went a long long way and may have just made the difference for India. Gautam Gambhir too. Poor lad. He's batted well throughout. Is the second highest scorer of the tournament and still hasn't been credited.

But it all doesn't matter now cause India won. 4 tough matches in less than a week against some of the best teams in the world. England, South Africa in their own backyard, Australia and now Pakistan.

Those boys out there deserve all the praise and more. The 2 million dollars declared by the BCCI for the team and one crore to Yuvraj. But for once I can't think of what a waste of money it is. They've done us totally proud.

Now Dhoni again. He's just too good. So cool and collected. I love the way he doesn't put pressure on the team and how even when Ravi Shastri asked him about feeling the pressure. He said, "It's just another game. We'll give it our best." To say something like that, takes a hell of a lot of confidence. And his captaincy decisions are tactical brilliance. Having two slips, 5 men inside the circle to put pressure on the Pakistanis and get a wicket. All excellent excellent thinking and the hallmark of a good good captain. He's going to go far. Passion as well. He's so passionate about everything he does and it totally comes through. He has this charisma about him. It's just hard to dislike him.

The two best teams in this tournament reached the finals and there was nobody more deserving. They managed to serve up something special in the final as well. Both young teams with new captains. And even if India had lost the finals, I wouldn't have been disappointed cause it was a beautiful game of cricket and I'm sure almost everybody who watched the match will agree with me. The game could have gone either way and as Harsha Bhogle said, "Misbah-Ul-Haq was one shot away from making history." And the memory of that shot is going to haunt him for the rest of his life, I'm pretty sure.

And now I'm looking forward to the series against Australia. With this new, pumped Indian side and with Dhoni as captain, its going to be a cracker of series.

Absolute exhilaration is what I'm feeling right now