Retribution

I still cry when I recall the events of March 14 1996. The World Cup was the biggest event I could imagine and West Indies had been robbed of their chance to win it! You may ask why WI and why not India? Nothing matched the charisma of WI and the enjoyment they brought to the millions of viewers. The mid 90s however had been the beginning of the fall for WI. They had lost the Test series at home to Australia and were well beaten in the tri-series in Australia in 95-96. Come the World Cup though, all I wanted was Brian Lara to turn up and fire. Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh were there too. How could they not perform?? Really, how? In their opening match, West Indies beat Zimbabwe fairly comfortably but came up short against India. The dropped catch by Courtney Browne cost them dear as Sachin Tendulkar made 70 to set up India's chase in Gwalior. And yeah, Brian Lara was incorrectly ruled out caught behind to add to my woes. Worse was to come. WI refused to tour Sri Lanka for security reasons and were docked two points. I still can't believe this happened. Sri Lanka got four points without playing Aus and WI. Next came the moment I almost had a heart attack. WI were complacent beyond belief in Pune and went down by 73 runs to Kenya. Yeah, you read it right - Kenya!!! Was this the end of the road. Well, everybody thought so. Not me! Certainly not. I had watched the team with so much enthusiasm and affection that I could not even bring myself to believe they would not qualify for the quarter-finals. In Jaipur, they hauled themselves up and beat Australia with Richie Richardson scoring 93 and Lara 60. Job done?? Hardly. The next game was against South Africa on Mar 11th. South Africa, you must be kidding me. No team stood a chance against them. SA had won five out of five in their group and were the epitome of consistency so far.

I had only moved to my new place on Mar 9th, the night of the humdinger between India and Pakistan in Bangalore. On March 11th, the third and fourth quarter-finals were played. For now, I could care less about the fourth (between Australia and NZ)in Madras. Would Lara, my favourite batsman (now you know my blog's name!) deliver? Would he? I prayed far more than I ever have for any bloody exam. And deliver he did. Lara played one of the most amazing ODI innings I have seen against a quality SA attack to push WI to 264. He had not hit a boundary for nearly 23 balls but opened up and smashed a century off just 83 balls (one behind the then Lloyd record. WI bowled and fielded with purpose. SA were bowled out for just 245 and I just could not believe my eyes. Losing to Kenya and then taking out Aus and SA. Stuff of dreams and surely, WI could go the distance?

Aus entered the semis against WI as firm favourites despite their loss in Jaipur. In the quarter-final against NZ, Aus had made a mockery of a tight chase of 287 with Mark Waugh scoring yet another century (his third of the tournament). How would WI deal with this batting line-up? The answer was emphatic. Curtly Ambrose, Mark Waugh's nemesis for years, produced a dream spell to remove him and Ricky Ponting. Ian Bishop bowled Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh to leave Australia rocking at 15/4!! Was it all over? I started dreaming of Lahore. Not just yet said Australia's crisis man Michael Bevan. Bevan had only recently stunned WI on New Year's day 96 at the SCG orchestrating a tense chase of 173 after Australia looked dead and buried at 38/6. In Mohali too, Bevan and Stuart Law set about the recovery process. Law, lucky to gain a reprieve for a close lbw call, made 72 and Bevan made 69 as Aus reached a competitive 207. But that should really not have been a tough target considering the batting might WI had.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Courtney Browne started fairly well until Browne hit a long hop from Shane Warne back to the bowler. In came Lara and set about playing some outstanding shots. He certainly was on a roll and made run scoring on a difficult pitch look ridiculously easy. With the score on 93 after Lara had produced a gem of a cover drive, Steve Waugh bowled a wonderful slower off-cutter to bowl Lara. Still Chanderpaul and Richardson stood firm and guided WI to within touching distance. At 165/2 in 41 overs, I sniffed Lahore. Chanders was out to a tired shot caught at mid on. Then came the horror show. The pressure got to WI as Jimmy Adams fell trying to sweep Warne. But what was Mr Venkataraghavan doing there? He gave a terrible caught behind decision to end Ottis Gibson's innings and a debatable lbw call against Ian Bishop who was a more than useful lower order batsman. In between, Keith Arthurton slashed at a wide one from Damien Fleming to end a miserable tournament. Richardson swept Warne mightily only this time for the other umpire BC Cooray to stop it with his head (bloody head!!). A certain boundary averted! The WI captain meanwhile played his hook shots superbly and kept WI in the game. With nine runs needed off the last over (a tie was enough to take WI through courtesy their win in Jaipur), Fleming stepped up to bowl it. Richardson swung the first ball for four to fine leg. He then ran a totally unnecessary run as Ambrose was run out by Healy. Next came the dreaded moment. Walsh walked out, had a word and went up to face Fleming. What was Walsh thinking as he had a swipe at the ball? I saw the stumps rattled and could not believe my eyes. I saw Richardson's face and started sobbing inconsolably. I cried all night only for dad to reassure me that WI would come back. But deep down, I knew it was hard, almost impossible for WI to resurrect themselves after this shocking loss. Alas, my friends (Deepak and Jayanth) have often told me that they believe Wi would never have slipped this far below had they gone on to lift the 96 WC. I think so too. The tears stopped the next day but the pain did not end. I was witness to 16 years of struggle and only the great memories of WI's achievements from the decades gone by kept me glued to the game...

Until...Oct 2012. WI had their best chance in a format I hate. I have been a Test lover and still continue to enjoy the traditional form. But then, I watched the tournament with the hope that WI could spring a surprise or two. Was I being too demanding in asking for consistency across a tournament though? WI had the necessary luck in the group stages and the Super Eights. Now they were up against the old adversary Australia. On form, WI had no chance. Given the record in major tournaments, it was a no contest. But something told me WI had it in them this time. It was seriously retribution time. Time to erase the dark memories of Mohali 96. Richardson and Gibson in the staff and Bishop a part of the commentary team. Wouldn't they have wished for the same? It turned out to be a no contest all right! WI hammered Australia all round the park to amass 205 and bowled Australia out for just 131. Really, I felt the Gods had been kind this time. I remember being taken to a temple of a particular deity some time in 1995. The deity was supposed to be powerful enough to grant any wish instantly. While everyone prayed for academic and financial success, my mind had no other thought but a WI win. I am still ragged about making such a wish but would I have done different in retrospect? Certainly not!

There was one small hurdle (ok large) to clear though. The hosts Sri Lanka had crushed WI in the tournament earlier and in three previous meetings. WI stood a very small chance of upsetting the trend. And once their talisman Chris Gayle went, the odds were even more in favour of the Sri Lankans. In stepped Marlon Samuels. He had shown glimpses of his talent in 2002 in India but went off the boil for years. In the 2007 WC game against England, he was responsible for Brian Lara's run out in what turned out to be Lara's last match. I never forgave him for that. But in the last two years, Samuels is a changed man. He has demonstrated terrific consistency in all forms of the game and on the night of Oct 7, 2012, he was unstoppable. He smote the 'unhittable' Lasith Malinga for a number of sixes and dragged WI out of a hole. Once WI reached 138, I knew it was game on. Now for the bowling. WI had an attack that lacked discipline and intensity. On this night, however, they had oodles of everything an attack needs. They struck getting the dangerous Dilshan early and pressured Sangakkara into making an error. Soon, the Sri Lankan captain Jayawardene was to follow and I could not stop jumping around like a kid. Wi withstood a late fightback from the hosts and held their nerve. When the final catch was taken, tears flowed down my eyes. I could not believe what was happening. The very reason I love the game has been WI. The only batsman I will watch if I have a minute to live is Lara. What is there not to like about this team? The greatest entertainers the sport has seen and certainly, the most dominant at one point too. Memories of 96 flashed by my eyes and I could visualize Richardson thinking the same word too : Retribution!