Googlies: India beat Pakistan, win the Twenty20 World Cup

The odds were against us. The holy trinity of Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar were missing. Sehwag, Harbhajan and Pathan were making their comeback into the team. The Indian team came without anyone expecting them to even reach to the semi-final. The end result is: Pathan has found his rhythm and is Man of the Match in the final. Rohit Sharma, a day after he is dropped from the One day team, scores a fifty, gets a Man of Match award, a glorious run-out and follows it with great cameo today. RP Singh is the bowler of the tournament for me. With Umar Gul, he shares the honours of impeccable pace bowling, and Mr. Clark must be cursing Yuvraj for spoiling their party. Broad, who was hit for six sixes, which made Yuvraj richer by one crore rupees, must be wondering how broad is Yuvi's bat? Dhoni was so calm and composed before, during and after the match, that the win seems just a beginning in his career as captain. And what a beginning!

Misbah fought well. Misbah fought hard. He stood up like Klusener throughout the series, and his end was Klusener-like. Twice in two weeks, he came agonizingly close to hitting his home team to victory against arch rivals India. Twice he floundered at the crucial juncture. And yet, all praise for the man who managed to take his team so close each time. Winning is important, we all know that, but being this competitive matters more. He fought in the same vein as Porus fought when he lost to Alexander few thousand years ago. The battlefield has changed, the fighters haven't. In effect it is the spirit of battle, where fortunes wax and wane with every move, which was exhibited so grandly in the field today. And Misbah deserves every accolade the Indian and Pakistani team can award him.

Joginder Singh bowled much better than he did in the last few matches. After all the criticism he has faced for his medium pace, it is kind of divine justice that he bowled the last over against Australia as well as Pakistan, and won both matches for us. In both matches, he bowled in the overs that could have taken the game away from us, and in both matches he held his nerve, got wickets and dot balls, that none other than his captain or he himself could have banked on. Sreesanth redeemed himself in semi-final, and put up a good show again. The wicket flying after being hit for two sixes by Tanvir in that over must have been sweet moment for him. He came back to bowl a maiden after getting hit for 21 in his first over today. The ability to hit back is a crucial factor that contributed to his and the team's success in the tournament. Harbhajan had an awesome last over against Australia, and today Misbah made him look ordinary with three sixes that almost changed the momentum in Pakistan's favour. Yet the bottom line is that the 'Turbantor' contributed at the crucial junctures of the tournament and justified his return to the team with some clever bowling.

I was surprised to see YK Pathan open, for I think he bats lower down the order for his team. Yet the biggest and maybe sweetest surprise of the day was the way Gautam Gambhir scored freely while Dhoni and Yuvraj struggled. The struggle was understandable for both: Yuvraj is a slow starter against spinners, and Dhoni was faced with the guile and strategy of Umar Gul and the whole Pakistan think tank. Indian fielding, bowling and batting all rocked in this tournament and deservedly they lifted the trophy. Gambhir was second highest scorer of the tournament, and well, I was criticizing his play in the last post, and all I can do now is, hail him.

The celebrations that ensue from this will hail the team and selectors as phenomenal. What was truly phenomenal was the team playing as a unit. Also remarkable was their ability to stay in contention irrespective of who they faced, how many wickets had fallen, what the required run rate was. What makes a champion 'champion' is the ability to survive the weak moments, the falls and the failures, the calamities and catastrophes. The way India bounced back every time the opposition floored them with a heavy punch is the reason why the games were so thrilling and satisfying.

While we celebrate the young guns, it is opportune moment to thank the holy trinity "Rahul-Saurav-Sachin" and Jumbo God "Kumble" who have been the shining and guiding light of Indian cricket for last two decades. They did everything right, won more test matches abroad than any team before them, even reached a World Cup final, and will retire without having reached the pinnacle which they deserved as much as anyone. Ganguly should be remembered for keeping faith in young guns in face of pressure, and Dhoni is his great successor in that realm. The build up for such a victory and more to come has been going on for years. It was always a matter of when, and not if, and I guess, we always weighed our superstars with so much expectation, that they waivered at the last lap. Yet for years they have given us hope, joy and tears, and let's thank them as well.

Victories stick in memories longer when they come with a struggle and style seen in this tournament. The battles were never one-sided. The winner was undecided till the last over. Isn't it interesting that Joginder Sharma had Misbah caught by Sreesanth to end the tournament? Three unlikely heroes of the series! When Malik thanked Muslims all over the world for praying for Pakistani team, he must have forgotten India has a greater number of praying Muslims.

Let's celebrate now. Let's celebrate the spirit shown by the Indian fighters in this tournament. They fought back at point and gully. They fought at long on and mid-off. They fought with bats that moved like swords, scything ball after ball, out of the boundaries. The hit out beyond the boundaries we expected them to have. They hurled bowls like spears, bang on target. They hurled them fast, quick, on target. They pounced on flying rockets like soldiers ready to eat bullets, if that was required of them. When they faltered, they learned quickly from their errors. They worked together, each shifting the burden to himself, each making his own contribution right. They worked hard and won, and for now deserve their applause.

For years we will remember how a bunch of young ones lifted a trophy of greatness and how a billion smiled and celebrated on this very day. Here's to the victory and to the moment! Hurrah!