India make WC their own

in the final were not the only ones that eventually added sparkle to cricket’s showpiece event.
Some thrilling contests, the enthusiasm of the home fans and big money for sponsors and advertisers – everything added up to make the exhausting, six-week odyssey a success in the eyes of the organisers.
In a fairytale finish, India became kings of the one-day game on home soil – the first ever team to do so – and ensured a fitting farewell for coach Gary Kirsten.
Sri Lanka deserved huge credit, making it to the title clash until falling at the final hurdle for the second time in a row.
“It was the character of the individuals that helped us win this trophy,” said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Saturday’s final also underlined that cricket’s power base was in the sub-continent.
Never before had India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan all made it to the semi-finals for the first time together.
“I always say the sub-continent is the place to play cricket in,” said Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara ahead of the final.
“There’s no other place that can match the buzz, the excitement, the hype around the game, the passion and the love for the game as well.”
Towards the close, the tournament became a springboard for cricket diplomacy after India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the semi-final clash between the arch-rivals.
Singh and Gilani standing side by side and waving to Indian as well as Pakistani fans in Mohali turned out to be one of the most enduring snapshots of the event.
The knockout round helped fans forget the four-week first round stage which featured a series of mismatches and eventually saw the world’s top eight teams predictably fill the quarter-final places.
There were some memorable moments.
England’s high-scoring tie with India in Bangalore breathed life into the tournament and all of England’s six other games had drama, suspense and excitement.
South Africa went home with the chokers tag firmly back around their necks, New Zealand punched above their weight to make it to the last four and defending champions Australia relinquished a trophy they had held since 1999.
West Indies were crushed in the quarter-finals while Bangladesh flattered only to deceive its legion of home fans once again.
Pakistan won plaudits for their revival, reaching the semi-finals despite having had three players banned for corruption and their rights as tournament co-hosts snatched away because of their domestic security nightmare.
It was largely a tournament to forget for the game’s non-Test playing nations.
Ireland scored a sensational victory over England thanks to Kevin O’Brien’s record-breaking century, but the meek performances of the likes of Kenya and Netherlands, who lost all 12 matches they played, only fuelled the ICC’s plan to have just 10 teams at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand.
Saturday’s final also witnessed an international farewell for Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
It also saw Sachin Tendulkar finally win a world title at the sixth attempt and with his 38th birthday just around the corner.
“Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him,” said young Indian teammate Virat Kohli.
Meanwhile, India plotted a new era of cricket domination yesterday after their stunning World Cup success confirmed their status as the sport’s only superpower.
The comfortable six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, India’s first world title since 1983, was also being viewed as a reflection of the country’s growing commercial and political muscle.
“In the last three to four years India has done well in shooting, badminton, tennis, hockey and football,” said winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“We are growing as a sporting nation. But cricket is special because of the infrastructure.
“It all started with the 1983 win. Then two big players, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar, came on the scene, followed by Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
“It is due to them we are getting a lot of money and respect. We are trying to pass it on to the next generation.”
Dhoni, the son of a steel factory worker, is a multi-millionaire thanks to a career which has seen him become the first man to captain a World Cup and World Twenty20 winning side.
His team are also top of the world Test match rankings.
Throughout the six-week tournament, he was a regular on match-day TV commercials, endorsing everything from ceiling fans to mobile phones to high-end property.
But there will be little rest for his in-demand champions.
India have a packed upcomimg programme, including tours of the West Indies, England and Australia before the year is out, as well as home internationals.
Yet before any of that comes the latest lucrative edition of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League, starting on April 8, with Dhoni having led the Chennai Super Kings to victory in 2010.
“I don’t think we are getting enough time off. There’s no time to realise we have won the World Cup.”
Significantly, even before the last celebratory firework exploded in the Mumbai night sky on Saturday, the team’s paymasters were keeping them sweet with rewards of US$225 000 per player for capturing the trophy.
Indian newspapers revelled yesterday in victory, hailing Dhoni’s men as heroes for a new generation.
“The World At Our Feet” crowed the front page headline in the Times of India.
“The wait has ended and a new legend has been born,” the Times said, putting Dhoni’s squad on the same pedestal as the 1983 side.
“Windia!” was the banner headline in the Indian Express. Not surprisingly, the mood was not so optimistic in Sri Lanka after their team lost a second successive World Cup final.
“Who picked the final XI of the Sri Lanka team?” the Sunday Observer asked.
It questioned the dropping of spinner Ajantha Mendis in favour of Suraj Randiv who only joined the squad as an injury replacement on Friday.
The Observer also questioned the wisdom of playing an injured Muttiah Muralitharan, the ace spinner, who was retiring after Saturday’s game. – AFP.