Guess Who's Back...

Reflection: Finals of the Natwest Trophy- More than the phenomenal victory, one image remains very vivid, almost indelible- an ecstatic sourav ganguly taking his shirt off and waving it- with total pride.
It made a statement, defining enough. The image symbolized the renaissance of Team India, an absolutely fresh look, with new found, welcome aggression and a never before fighting spirit. Sourav epitomized the new generation- the rejuvenated bunch ready to take on any opposition and give it their best. He wore his heart up his sleeve. He marshalled his resources admirably and was primarily instrumental in instilling the young blood into the team. Had it not been for the Prince of Kolkatta, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Kaif , and many many other talents would have been in dumps.He picked the nuggets of gold from the million grains of sand. Sourav had his days of glory, when he has played some brilliantly scintillating innings, doing what he does best- hitting effortless sixers off left arm spinners (La Allan Border Ishtyle) and oh, in the process, winning matches for India. Also, he had his almost-as-long-as-Nile-lean-patch, was a non-performing captain- lackadaisical on the field, and gave some wonderful catch- practice to the opponents’ slip cordon. The arrogance was marked, became even more evident,coutesy,the deplorable batting form (or the lack of it). The icing on the cake of bitterness being, the spat with Greg Chappel. Sacked and reduced to nothing, scathing articles about his supercilious attitude smeared ALL over,in fact, wherever! Some inexplicable antagonism from the media front, I felt. The guy who has led India to many moments of glory, just due to an extended loss of form, and HOWEVER his attitude might have been, neednt have received the most hostile of deals.
Ten months of wilderness, introspection, mellowing down, finding feet. It worked brilliant, didn’t it? The “51 not out” in the first innings is NOT about the fifty one runs. It’s not about the blemish less boundaries hit with the typical-sourav-panache and flamboyance. No, it’s not that he top scored the innings also. It’s about the grit and gumption. It’s about the dogged spirit and courage. If there was a meter that measures resilience, the meters have gone for a recaliberation, because Sourav Ganguly’s Resilience Quotient was immeasurable, surpassed the previous best.
The Bengal Tiger roars.