Dear Yuvi

Dear Yuvaraj Singh.

I remember the time you debuted against the Australia and score 80 odd runs. The moment when you sledged Steve Waugh, ON YOUR DEBUT. Dada backed you, we all loved you. You along with Kaif took fielding in our team to new heights.

I remember the time you battled with Kaif in that Natwest final against England. From a tricky situation you got us out. Kaif sealed the match for us, but that partnership was crucial. Everyone remembers Dada waving his shirt from the boundary of Lords. I remember the hug you gave to Kaif and the way you held up the the Indian t shirt while doing rounds of the stadium. A fitting reply to Andrew Flintoff.

I remember the time you whacked the West Indian bowlers all over the park in Indian Oil Tournament. After the collapse in the top order you teamed up with Kaif once again. I remember you batting through the cramps and fatigue in the draining conditions. I remember the gesture you made towards the dressing room after finishing your century. Apparently Greg Chappell needed that answer after being over critical of your batting.

I remember the century against England in Rajkot and the wonderful spell of bowling you did. With 118 runs and 4/28, you contributed the best you could. And we did won the match.

I remember the time you clobbered Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in one over after an altercation with Flintoff. Poor guy Stuart Broad couldn't find a place to bowl you!

I remember your performance in the world cup 2011. How you demolished owling from all other teams. You were on top of your game and your teammates looked up to you whenever they needed a fighter. Later we found out that you were fighting a battle outside the ground too.

But you came through. Like always.

But this time things were different. A new start was there in the team. He was brilliant with the bat and was taking his team to victories, almost single handedly. But you kept fighting. With a player like you, all it requires is just one inning.

You got that innings against Australia in the ICC T 20. I thought, we all thought finally you are back. We will get to see those elegant cover drives, lofted shot over the mid wicket, those sweeps, all that grace which only a left hander can show.
But you couldn't perform for us in the final.

Last 4 overs we got only 19 runs. Sure you tried all you could. We could see the desperation on your face. You tried coming out of crease but the yorkers, the good length balls, they didn't made life easy for you. The star was getting fidgety at the other end. The team was getting restless in the dug out. We were getting impatient. Suddenly no one could remember what you have doing for us since past 14 years. All those innings, those catches, saves, wickets, energy, everything is forgotten just like that.

So everyone is blaming you for today's loss. Lazy asses, who never picked a bat in their life is dissecting and criticising your technique, amateurs who can't plan the next move of their life is criticising Dhoni's move to send you in at that time in place of Raina.

But you know us well, don't you? You have seen us idolising Dada for his fearless captaincy, but you have also seen us criticising Dada when he went out of form. You have seen us showing black flags to your family members when India lost a match in 2003 World Cup, but you have also seen us making you king when you won us the world Cup in 2011. Hell, we even criticised THE MASTER Sachin Tendulkar when he was not able to get his 100th century.

So we will continue criticising you because you can take it. Because you are the player we deserve, but not the one we need right now.

Why am I writing this. ?? Because I hope you come back in form soon. I hope you again start thrashing bowlers all over the park. I hope you again start bowling those tweakers which confounds the batsmen. I hope this small writing will send a tiny bit of positivity in the universe and somehow it will reach you.

Everyone salutes the rising sun, but in your case, the sun is far from setting. It is just partially blocked by the clouds. I hope it clears up pretty soon and we get to hear the roar once again.

With lots of best wishes for the future Yuvi.

Yours truly
A Common fan

Cross

He is walking just behind the advertisement boards. The match is almost evenly poised, some will say even in favour of South Africa. But Alan Donald is an experienced player. He knows it is not over until the last ball is bowled or the final run is taken. He is filled with nervous energy. Suddenly he hears a roar from the crowd. He looks up. Yuvi has hit a back-of-length delivery by Tahir in the air. It is in the vicinity of AB de Villiers. He comes in running hard. Eyes fixed on the ball, judging its trajectory. That brilliant cricketing brain of his analysing and predicting the path of the ball every nanosecond. The ball starts dipping. ABD realises that he won’t make it on foot. So he decides to fly. He times the dive perfectly. Cups the ball safely in his hands then gets up with a roar. Just outside the boundary line Alan Donald lets out a roar of his own. Its been 15 years since that English summer at Edgbaston but he is still carrying the cross. All of his team members are carrying the cross. 

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It was smooth sailing till the 12th over. Gibbs and Kirsten had put up a good partnership of 48 runs. They batted with ease, without taking any chances. The Australian total of 213 runs seemed an easy task for South Africa. In comes Warnie. He beats the bat a couple of times in his first over. No damage done to South Africa, but clearly the ball is doing something. On the second ball of his second over , Warnie produces one of his specials. The ball left his hand, landed outside the leg stump of Gibbs, spun like a crazy hurricane and took out the off stump.

As Gilly jumped up and came running down the pitch to congratulate Warnie, Gibbs just stood there with his left leg still stretched in an attempt to pad away the ball. Refusing to believe what just happened. Warnie came back again for his third over. This time Gary Kirsten was on strike. Warnie bowls another of his magic deliveries. The ball pitches on the footmarks outside Gary’s leg stumps. Gary Kirsten who is a good sweeper tries to run it down the fine leg. He misses. The ball jumps from the footmark region like a lethal snake and takes out the off stump. Warnie is running on adrenaline. His face is contorted, his fist is pumping the air as he shouts COME ON to his teammates. Steve Waugh tries to hug him but Warnie continues his battle cry. 

Two deliveries later he tosses one up at good length to Cronje. Cronje tries to flick to the on-side, but it takes the edge and lands in the safe hands of Mark Waugh. Warnie has taken 3 of the best batsmen of South Africa in 8 balls.

I was at my maternal uncle’s place for summer vacation. World cup 1999 was going on. Till the time India was in the tournament we were united in our support. Debashish Mohanty’s bowling action, Sachin’s century, Dada and Dravid’s partnership, we were enjoying it to the full. But then India made an exit. With India out of the tournament most of my family members had lost interest in the World Cup. But I and my uncle were enthusiastic as ever. I supported South Africa (I always support South Africa if India is not involved. I don’t care about any other teams!). My uncle supported Australia. As Warnie wreaked havoc to the top order my uncle taunted me. “See, your team is a choker. They won’t make it”.  

I was in 7th standard that time, I didn’t know what does choker means. But I could guess it is something negative.  

I retorted, “Wait until Klusener comes”.  

In that tournament Klusener was setting fire to the stadiums with his sublime hitting. Always chewing on a gum and dispatching deliveries over the boundary. I liked his style. I tried bowling like him. I am right handed, but I started palying lefty as well, mostly due to Dada’s batting and partly because I wanted to hit like Klusener. It is a different matter that I suck both as a right handed and as a left handed batsman !!  

But Klusner was down in the order. A recovery started before his arrival. The genius Kallis and effervescent Jonty build up a partnership. They took the score from 61 to 145 before Jonty perished.   I cut in few of my own taunts to my uncle when the duo were batting. I was kid and I cheered in an obscenely loud voice whenever a boundary was hit. Due to the shouting the other family members too came in the room. Dinner was about to be served. But I was not at all interested in the food (yeah, try to believe that once I was not interested in food!). 

Warnie came in for his last over and again bowled a good length ball to Kallis. Kallis wanted to drive it through the covers but he checked his shot at the last moment, scooping it up in the hands of Steve Waugh.  

This time my uncle cheered loudly, till my grandfather gave him a look!  

In came Zulu, chewing his gum. Adjusting his gloves, without any care in this world. Shortly afterwards Pollock was bowled by a stinging yorker form Damien Fleming. The equation was 30 required off 25 balls when Pollock got out.  

Some gritty hitting by Klusener and a catch that fell short of Tom Moody brought the equation to 18 required off 12.   

McGrath came in with the last over of his spell. 

I hadn’t finished even half of my dinner. My grandma was repeatedly asking me to eat, while I just nodded and kept watching. Same was the case with my uncle.  On his second ball McGrath bowled Mark Boucher. Elworthy came in and got run-out in an attempt to give strike to Klusener. It was all upto him. 16 required off 8 balls.  

What happened next was something amazing. McGrath bowled a full toss, Klusener hit it down the ground with all his might. It went straight in the air to Paul Reiffel. The 5 feet 10 inches Paul Reiffel dropped it in a manner that it went for a six!  

When the ball was hit by Klusener I almost went up from my seat, but then I saw it going straight to Paul Reiffel. At that point my uncle almost clapped his hands. But then Reiffel dropped it for 6 and I finally went up.

“This is called choking. Yes. Yessss”. I was shouting.  

But still 10 required off 7.  

Before the advent of T 20 this was not such a small target. But I trusted Zulu. I knew he will get his team home.

My uncle was mumbling, “Don’t let him take a single”.   

Maybe he was not loud enough, because Zulu did take a single off the last ball of McGrath over.

9 off 6 with Klusener at strike. 

Damien Fleming came running and tries bowling a Yorker on the off stump. Klusener sends it to the boundary for 4.  

5 off 5.  

Again same ball and same shot. And same result. Mike Proctor (name not confirmed) says on commentary that “Zulu has done it again. He has taken his team to the world cup finals”.  

We forgot that dinner was there on the table. I was standing and jumping at every shot. I even danced in front of my uncle to taunt him. 1 required off 4. Surely they are home. 

Next ball Klusener hits the ball and it goes staright to Darren Lehmann. Alan Donald starts running from the non-striker’s crease towards Klusener, who sends him back. Meanwhile Lehmann, the portly and jolly fellow has got the ball in his hands he has a clear aim at the stumps and ample time. He throws and misses. 

Donald would have been run-out by a huge margin. 

“Practice.. Practice pratice..” Someone says on the commentary. 

Next ball Fleming bowled a Yorker. Klusener made contact and the ball went to mid-off, straight to Mark Waugh. And Klusener just ran. The player of the tournament, the entertainer, the man I adored and wanted to be (at that age!)..just ran. Donald had no option other than running. He lost his bat somehow and continued running empty handed. He never made it. All the Australians converged at the stumps. They had just pulled off one of the closest wins in ODI history.  Although the score was tied , still Australia went through to the finals because of their net run-rate.   I was standing with hands over my head. Completely stunned. My uncle got up and did a peculiar dance step which seemed a cross between Daler Mehendi's dnce and Bharatnatyam !  

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15 years later, it is again a semi-final. When Yuvi got out India still needed 40 off 24 balls. With the likes of Raina, Dhoni, Sir Jadeja, Ashwin sitting in the bench it was not that difficult. But Steyn still had 2 overs. And he was spitting fire. The next over was given to Parnell and Raina unleashed hell upon him. 6 4 4. One mishit went for boundary. 17 runs off that over made the target 23 off 18 balls. Kohli played few magnificent shots and by the time Dhoni came, the match was almost over. So much that Dhoni had the luxury to tap down a ball so that Kohli can hit the winning runs. Which he did on the first ball of the last over and erupted in celebration.

This match was played between South Africa and India so my choice of support was clear. I wanted an Indian victory which we got in the end. But the disappointment written on the faces of South African players reminded me of my own disappointment as a 7th grader kid. A kid who didn’t finished his dinner. A kid who almost cried when Zulu ran out Alan Donald. A kid who didn't play cricket for almost a week after that semi-final match. A kid who could see the weight of cross being carried by this team.

A cross with the tag of CHOKERS.