Barbados: Seventeen years, three captains and a billion plus prayers later, Rohit Sharma's India brought the T20 World Cup home with more grit than fanfare, more cordons than splurges, great intent and an arms department that became their main weaponry.
It was an eventful journey, full of downs and then the difficult climbs into the hall of contention. United they rose, with individual flashes of brilliance standing only second in line to cohesive teamwork finishing given assignments and stepping up to patch the tears by a Virat Kohli in the Final, an Axar Patel in the semifinals and a Rohit Sharma against Australia to name a few.
Add to these mentions, the supporting role played by the middle order when scores were breathing slow, and you would understand what Sharma meant when he said his want was for a "smart team" and the balance it struck.
Other than this, magic and fear was constantly woven by the bowling unit that has emerged to be the best in the world, making a searer like Jasprit Bumrah not one but among the best in the Indian bowling squad.
What came across was the team's grit, the respect it gave caution, the intent to steer through difficult terrain, quick adaptability, staying power and above all, self-belief that led them through the drop in pitches in New York, to hectic one-night schedules in the Caribbean and their hunger for collectiveness and completeness.
The Final at Kensington Oval was the signature tune of what the team worked for, a case in point of rigour, discipline and hard work, not to mention the backbone to not give up.
Life kept going and coming into the Indian dressing room, and the high point of this instance was the incredible catch that Surya Kumar Yadav took at the ropes to make send back David Miller at the crucial time.
The last over of the Final was a showcase of what Sharma and Rahul Dravid had drilled into the warriors – never give self-belief and undying effort a break. Salute to Hardik’s nerve, Surya’s hop, skip and jump catch, Sharma’s selfless leadership, Kohli turning up when most wanted and a scoreboard showing 9 runs in 1 ball for South Africa.
Proteans choked yet again as India, Sharma’s India, Bumrah’s India, Arshdeep Singh's India, Hardik Pandya’s India, Surya’s India, Kohli ‘s India, coach Rahul Dravid’s India and madam victory’s India soaked in the moment and sipped from the Cup that launched a billion dreams. Indeed, waka waka ho, this time is India’s!
