How many times in the history of sports has it happened that the player who the opposition is most wary of, fails and a new hero(a villain, if you're an opponent!) emerges? The Argentines didn't expect Mario Goetze of all people from Germany to score the winning goal in the deciding minutes of the FIFA worldcup 2014! The goal hit Messi and his men and his billion fans like a dagger in the heart. They hadn't planned for him. He only came in as a substitute and became a hero.
"Everybody knows Chris gayle is a Champion.. Bravo's a Champion... Champion.. Champion."
Similarly, last night while the whole of India was waiting with bated breath to see what Chris Gayle had in store, something unexpected hit the Indians. Lendl Simmons, who was not even a part of the original squad was flown in to replace Andre Fletcher and landed in his adopted home ground of Mumbai just a couple of days prior to the match and batted like the luckiest man in the world should- catches went for sixes, and those caught clean were only off no-balls. Andre Russel who had so far not had much chances with the bat came up to the party and batted like he was a stereoisomer of Chris Gayle!
In the end it was a hard fought game and the 40 thousand spectators in Wankhede who had 5 years ago gone ecstatic when Dhoni hit that winning six were numbed into silence as Russel deposited a Virat Kohli full toss into the same stands!
But something unusual happened even as India bowed out of the worldcup at home. The fans who everyone expected to be bitter and angry were surprisingly not so sad and indignant. If you went through the social media feeds immediately after the game was over and even on the morning after that, you would ve surprisingly seen a lot of positive messages. Indian fans supporting their team and praising West Indies for their spirit. It was something highly unusual. Imagine if we had lost in a similar fashion to Pakistan. Imagine if it was Mohd Hafeez in stead of Simmons.. Imagine if it was Afridi in stead of Russel. Would the reactions have been same? I highly doubt.
And this is exactly where West Indies come into picture. A team with a great history, a team that produced so many inductees to the ICC hall of fame is today but a sad shadow of its rich past. Its a mediocre side. No doubt about it. Ask them to play test cricket and this same side side would collapse in 2 or at best 3 days and party for the remaining 2 days. And this exactly where t20 has come to the rescue of West Indies cricket and its fans. The format suits their style of play. Its all about flair, athleticism and power; something this current bunch of West Indians are blessed with in bountiful amounts. Technique, temperament and patience is not their game. And luckily not much needed in a t 20 game. It is as though t 20 cricket was made for west indies. We all love to see them sing, dance and celebrate. Even when Dwayne Bravo took a catch on the boundary line and brought out his 'champion' moves, Indian fans weren't angry. The fact that we lost to a bunch of such lovely and ebullient individuals has only made this defeat more palatable. Nobody was made Yuvraj Singh(read: scapegoat) this time and this is what we must actually thank windies for!
So, when they take the centre stage in Kolkata, the erstwhile capital of British India, I am sure every single Indian fan will be cheering for West Indies and might even sing, dance and celebrate with Bravo, Sammy and Gayle on that "Champion.. Champion..." song..
Indians are not in the finals but hey, west INDIANS are!! So, sit back on Sunday night and watch these amazing entertainers on the cricket field take action against men who ruled us for 400 long years.. Now, is that enough a reason to support them? ;-)
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