Moderation will be forsaken, balance will be lost--but maybe, just maybe, this victory, against all odds, deserves a very special celebration.
Excess of passion, lack of moderation, absence of balance--cricket in Australia, over the last two months, has been marred by too many causes that really should not
affect the game.
And on a thriller of a Tuesday evening, cricket became almost incidental--despite the fact that it was the best game of the CB Series, ensuring a famous trophy for the young Indians.
For a game India and Australia wanted to win desperately, curiously, it became more about personalities. Harbhajan Singh, in the eye of a storm, mainly raised by the local media,
had been demonised into a hate figure--the crowds, even the aged and the infirm, tiny tots and
greybeards, seemed to take a perverse pleasure in spitting invective at him.
It was more than--perhaps less than--cricket that had been played before Tuesday.
A stimulating contest between the two foes turned into mortal combat almost. And
the Indians were the ones who were dancing, shouting and singing at the end of an evening lit up by the Gabba lights.
The game's bigger than them all, but the eminence of the personages involved, especially two men who were going to take a last bow at the ground, ensured that men overshadowed the game.
Adam Gilchrist is a quiet hero in an age of brash upstarts; Sachin Tendulkar would be a hero in any age, a masterful batsman for the ages. The two had contrasting last games at the Gabba.
Gilchrist exited after playing three balls in his final innings for Australia--he seemed nervous, and his jab at the ball hesitant. Praveen Kumar, as young
as Gilchrist is old to the game, celebrated the (thus far) biggest wicket of his career.
For India, Tendulkar orchestrated the Indian innings for the second time in two
successive games--he had done that with greater force and violence 10 years ago against the same opponents at Sharjah; the master has aged finely, he's managed to evolve into a much more cerebral batsman, given to lesser acts of violence. But he retains the ability to kill the foe, only more softly than ever before.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's young captain, inventive in his actions on the field, a man who's likely to ruffle feathers with the force of his will and quiet confidence, seems to have the Midas touch--for now. He was asked later if his expectations (from the team) are rising with his rising stock--"Kahan tak le ke jayanege ummedion ko yeh toh bataiye?" he said with his customary grin.
For those who may not follow Hindi, "How higher would you take
expectations? First tell me that."
He praised the young men who won the team the title, men like Praveen Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Irfan Pathan and Robin Uthappa, who all pulled more than their weight. The biggest gain of the tour, Ishant Sharma, who missed the final, also got the tribute he deserves so richly.
Then Dhoni also spoke stronger words, again softening them with the same grin--especially against people who've been attacking Tendulkar.
"Performance is one thing, performing back to back is something else," he said, and, for good measure, added: "People may call him a sitting elephant, but he's the best."
This was intended for Sanjay Manjrekar, who'd bestowed the elephant tag on Tendulkar, suggesting that the master's form had become a problem no one wanted to talk about.
"He never said a word, he wanted to let his bat do the talking… Some of the younger guys in the side can do the talking," Dhoni grinned.
The Australians didn't have much to grin about; captain Rickey Ponting dwelt on a series lost after "dominance" before the finals. That's debatable, for the Australians never looked the force they have been in recent past. And now they've lost a pillar of strength, a source of that force.
Late into the night, Gilchrist, slightly tipsy, diligently signed autographs. His two little daughters traipsed along the boundary, trying to walk on the rope. His family celebrated his departure with wine--it was no happy ending for him, but Gilchrist said he had much to celebrate in his exit.
"It's not really a fairytale ending," Gilchrist said.
That's not what Dhoni's young men, Cinderellas come to the party, would say. They rocked the Gabba with their celebrations, and the nation will rock with them soon.
Moderation will be forsaken, balance will be lost--but maybe, just maybe, this victory, against all odds, deserves a very special celebration.