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By K.R. Nayar From Kensington Oval, Barbados Emotional scenes followed after India lifted the World Cup. Most of Team India players, including coach Rahul Dravid, shed tears of joy. The South African players literally shed tears of sadness after being so close and yet not lifting the trophy. The way the match swung from one team to another was compared to a man drunk after having Barbados’s famous Rum Punch. After walking out of the ICC 2023 World Cup 50-over final like a funeral procession, this time it was like walking with a marriage procession. The saxophone was constantly played, and drum beats that began at the start continued even after the match. Many people I approached for comments had no voice as they had screamed cheering for India and lost their voice. “My husband will be happy and at peace for a few days,” said a woman fan who had lost her voice, candidly laughing away. It drizzled soon after the match ended, making it seem like Barbados, too, shed tears of joy ov...

By K.R. Nayar From Kensington Oval, Barbados From the moment Team India, led by Rohit Sharma, arrived in the USA for the ICC T20 World Cup, their juggernaut began to roll. Every opponent they faced were eliminated. They raced through the group stages and super eight clashes, reaching the final destination where the Cup they had won in 2007, but had failed to win it again despite many attempts, was waiting. Before the start of the final, this Cup was carried to the middle by Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, and Chris Gayle, the legend known as Universe Boss, and placed on a pedestal as if it was waiting for the team that played the best in the final.   On their way, Team India beat England, who were the reigning champions. The only hurdle left was an undefeated South Africa, who had shown brilliance in all departments of the game. Through a final that once again boosted the glitter of T20 cricket, India emerged champions and lifted the World Cup after a 17-year wai...

From K.R. Nayar Kensington Oval, Barbados It is always enjoyable to listen to remarks from the crowd during any match. Leaving the press box and standing for a few minutes near the stands always provides enough material to write. Some fans are very imaginative and churn out hilarious comments and even songs. When England started to lose wickets in quick succession during the semi- final in Guyana, a fan started singing the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down," replacing "London Bridge" with "England team." England skipper Jos Buttler with Indain captain Rohit Sharma  In Florida, the press box was just behind the spectators’ seats. When spectators jumped out of their seats, it affected our view, but when cricket fans are seen enjoying themselves, one does not feel like asking them to sit down. There are some spectators who keep jumping out of their seats and constantly dancing, making one wonder whether they are jumping jacks. Incidentally, the...

By K.R. Nayar From Providence Stadium, Guyana After the second semi- final, almost every journalist covering this match got thinking on what could be an appropriate headline that would convey India’s entry into the final. When a team wins in the manner that India did, beating England by 68 runs, it could be ‘India storms into the final.’ However, since the chances of a thunderstorm were not very high, would it then be apt to say "India into final without a storm”? BCCI official  twitter on India reaching final  The rain pattern on most of these islands is peculiar. It pours heavily one moment and then stops abruptly. The sky, like an innocent boy who did nothing wrong, turns blue and acts as if it was not responsible for anything. It can be compared to starting a car, accelerating to a good speed, and then suddenly stopping at a red light. Given that it could start raining any time, a few fans wanted the gap between the toss and the start of play to be canceled, ...

By K.R. Nayar From Providence Stadium, Guyana England, through their official Twitter account, had reminded India of their T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final defeat. This reminder now seems uncalled for, as India, keeping that defeat in mind, went for the kill in this semi-final, inflicting a 68-run defeat on England. England may now have to recall this defeat as a painful memory for a long time. They had dreamt of defeating India again, going on to the final, and becoming the first team to win the World Cup three times. Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed at the Providence Stadium. India's victory wasn't achieved through a one-man show. Their star batsman, Virat Kohli (9), once again  failed to reach double figures in this edition. In the previous three T20 World Cup semi-finals, he had scored an unbeaten 72 against South Africa in 2014, an unbeaten 89 against West Indies in 2016, and 50 against England in 2022. Two more of their top batsmen, Rishabh Pant (4) and Shi...

By K.R. Nayar From Providence Stadium, Guyana Meeting legends in real life after having seen them only in photographs or drawings is a totally different experience. The effect of that delight is doubled if you have also read and known a lot about them. Until the legendary pacer Wes Hall came to Kensington Oval and presented his book "Answering the Call" to Rahul Dravid, I had only seen a drawing of Hall in the Shyam Bhatia cricket museum in Dubai.  Wes Hall presented his book to Team India coach Rahul David at the Kensington Oval   In Bhatia's museum, there are drawings of Lance Gibbs, Clyde Walcott, Andy Roberts, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, and almost all the West Indies legends. There is much to learn from these cricket legends. Most of them came from humble backgrounds, but it was their devotion to the game that made them the greatest cricketers in the world. A hand-created portrait of Wes Hall at the Shyam Bhatia cricket museum Sobers was the fifth among six...

By K.R. Nayar From Providence Stadium, Guyana Guyana is known as the "Land of Many Waters" because of the numerous rivers that criss-cross this region. Although Indian fans outnumber that of England, the question they have in their minds is whether India can sail past England into the final. The number of sixes that have sailed out of the boundary from captain Rohit Sharma’s bat during his breezy 92 against Australia in the Super Eight match at St. Lucia gives them hope that it could be a smooth glide into the final.   Team India all set for the semifinal against England  England’s official Twitter account posted a tweet to provoke India, asking them to recall what happened the last time both teams clashed in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final. India posted 168 for 6 in 20 overs, and England won by 10 wickets, with Jos Butler hitting an unbeaten 80 and Alex Hales an unconquered 84. They won with 24 balls to spare. The BCCI Twitter account hasn't responded because Ind...

By K.R. Nayar From Providence, Guyana Whether in Barbados, St. Lucia, or Guyana, it is impressive how former cricket legends are remembered here. It is not only pavilions in the stadiums that are named after them, but the streets and roundabouts too carry their names. There are stadiums named after Viv Richards, Brian Lara, and Darren Sammy.  This got me thinking as to why in India, where cricket is said to be a religion, there is no stadium named after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, or Kapil Dev. Being with the legendary Clive Lloyd is always a joy In Barbados, the number of roundabouts named after cricketers is remarkable. One has to pass the Gary Sobers, Frank Worrell, and Clyde Walcott roundabouts to reach the stadium. In Guyana, where India will meet England in the second semi-final, there are streets named after Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. It feels special to pass a street named after Lloyd, with whom I have had numerous interviews...

By K.R. Nayar From Gros Islet, St Lucia Fans living in the US and Canada have reached the different islands where India’s matches are being held. People from Gujarat but living in the US and Canada, who came for the India-Australia match at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, were the happiest. Seven months ago, Australia had humiliated India in the final of the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, their hometown. A banner mentioning one of their favorite dishes said: “We made Australia into a Thepla (a spicy flatbread).” Mumbai fans, who are proud of Rohit Sharma being a ‘Mumbaikar’, felt that his knock transformed the Australians into a Vada Pav (Indian version of a burger). Incidentally, Vada Pav is Sharma’s favorite food. The majority of the fans for the super eight matches are NRIs living in the US and Canada, especially the techies who are mainly from Andhra Pradesh. Staking their claim, they noted that Sharma’s mother tongue is Telugu since his mother hails from Visakhapatnam,...