De Ghuma Ke

So ends one of the most, or perhaps the most exciting roller-coaster of a month for me. And as it draws to close, so did the World Cup 2011. Which to me, has been the biggest cricketing event for SL, cause I was only 3 the time we lifted the '96 World Cup. Defeat comes as it may, to look beyond it but not overlook it, is the true spirit. I can't deny it. I am sad. So sad, that my perfect day had to end with neat shots of white rum, and it tasted nothing close to victory.

But a few hours before that last ball Dhoni fittingly clobbered for a six, we were in the radar of pure Sri Lankan fun. What a day it was. Went to the Intercon to watch the first innings with Gardi. Five star hotel you say? Haha. The heist bar of this 5 star hotel, looked nothing different to the Keththarama grounds. People clad in Blue and Yellow, waving the Lion flag, going crazy for every run, and going beyond crazy for every boundary. It was awesome. We kept ordering stuff, cheese toast to mojitos to hot butter cuttle fish. The party had already begun in SL.

And the man of the moment, the man who defined true Sri Lankan grit, was the reason to cheer our team forward: Mahela. You showed the world what class is all about. Every time the leather striked the sweet willow, 20 million Sri Lankans rose to their feet. The defeated Lion took charge of the pride. You knew what it was like to be defeated at the helm. And you rose to the occasion. Thank You.

The first innings sealed it for us. When Gardi, Umanga and I got into that tuk tuk, and sped away to the CH grounds, our naive minds missed the probability of things going wrong. That tuk tuk ride, was one to remember. Rampaging through the night of Colombo, waving the Lion at everybody on the road screaming "Come on Sri Lanka". And them screaming back at us. The whole of Sri Lanka was once again united. This amount of euphemism was not second to that when we won the War back in 2009.

Got to CH and met up with the rest of the gang. It was a carnival. Everybody was there. Gardi started playing the fool and everything we did, was right that night. Kay was there, Rushanka, and I made a new friend; Umanga, she is such an awesome girl. No fake accents, no nonsense, just plain damn genuine. She definitely joins the hangout now. I loved every bit of that night, except for the loss. I've never seen so many people wearing the same sad mask. I had mine too. And I'll probably wear it along with 20 million others for the rest of the week, but Life goes on. You taste defeat once, It's okay, You'll get back up. You taste defeat again, It's still okay, You'll still get back up.

To India, you were the better team on the day. It was a treat to the true cricket fan regardless of nationality, to see Yuvi and Raina leap like cougars, to see MS show the world what it means to be captain, to see Gambhir defy the odds of the crtitics, and more over to show the world that India is more than Sehwag and Tendulkar. Kohli living up to his attitude, and the best part was to see Bhajji, the ever herculian Harbhajan cry like a baby, it was all emotion. India truly deserve it, any team who slap the wits out of Australia deserve to win the Cup. So they did.

I used to remember days where the Lions would prounce at the ball, and stop every boundary and easy single. There used to be days where Chandana and Dilshan would form a near literal brick wall on the field. There used to be Mahanama and Aravinda who would resurface the sunken ship. There used to be Vaas who would swing the ball on a flat track. And an ever energetic Murali, who used to smile way more than this. But we still have all of them in our team in different avatars, it's just that when the occasion calls for them, they should rise up to it. Well done boys. De Ghuma Ke! Next time Hit it Harder!

And to my dear friend Aditi. What better Birthday could you have asked for eh? When I took that bet for an SL-Ind Final, I was certain about it, because this cup was all about the sub continent. Hope you, Wait, Know you had an awesome day. You and India deserved it. Absorb the fun behta. खुश विलम्बित जन्मदिन