Congratulations, Team INDIA!!!!

I can confidently venture to say that 2011 will forever hold a special place in the heart of each and every Indian all over the world. Personally, April 2, 2011 will be a very, very special date for me for many, many years to come.. the day my long awaited dream finally came true.

Well, if you are wondering what I am talking about (i.e. if you haven't already guessed it), I am, of course, talking about the ICC World Cup 2011. We are the WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! The World Cup has finally come back to India after 28 long years! 28 years...that is nearly three decades..I myself hadn't been born when India had last won the World Cup. It's such a great feeling that it is tough to even get words to describe it.

I happen to be a die-hard Sachin Tendulkar fan. I must have been hardly 6 or 7 years old when I first saw Sachin play..and my..how do I put it..fascination, love, awe? for him has only grown twenty-fold (if not more) over the years. As was the dream of every Sachin fan, it was my very long-awaited dream to see India win the cup before Sachin retires (of course, I wish he would never retire, but sadly, every great thing has to come to an end). Sachin has been truly blessed with a long and very successful career spanning 21 long years, and he spent every one of those years preparing and waiting for the ultimate glory.. getting the World Cup home again.

The Master Blaster has every cricketing record to his credit; he is even just one century short of completing 100 international centuries..a feat achievable only by a man of Sachin's caliber and capability; but the World Cup was one glory that eluded him for nearly three decades. But the Master waited patiently, and in spite of some unfortunate injuries threatening his career and the many questions raised time and again by critics, Sachin only got better with every passing year, and like the true Master that he is, he always let his bat do the talking and silence his critics.

Indian cricket has been through some rough patches, the worse time being during the very forgettable 2007 World Cup, where India was humiliatingly thrown out of the very first round. I daresay that was the darkest hour of Indian cricket, with there being more controversies than victories.

The team itself has undergone a major change since the team four years ago, with the absence of greats like Saurav "Dada", Dravid, Laxman, Kumble, Srinath, and many more. The four years that passed since the 2007 world cup fiasco have been years of nonstop tournaments and intense preparation for team India. We all learn from our mistakes, and while Team India did learn the hard way, they saw to it that their failure in 2007 would only be a stepping stone towards their future success.

And what a great success it was!! When Sachin and the rest of the Men in Blue shed tears of joy on the field on the night of April 2, 2011, I am very sure our entire Nation (myself very much included) cried along with them. Oh, what I wouldn't have given to share that precious moment with Sachin.. it was so great and overwhelming to see the entire team take Sachin on a victory lap by hoisting him on their shoulders.. The Master deserves that and much, much more. And to see him posing near the Gateway of India, with the beautiful trophy in hand-what more could I ask for? Made me feel like I had won the trophy myself!! I have really never seen Sachin happier than he was that day.. it just goes to show how much the World Cup meant to him.

Though it has been nearly a month now, we are all just coming to terms with the true meaning of lifting the World Cup trophy. The celebrations certainly won't stop for a very long time. The team most definitely deserves each and every award and honour bestowed upon them, because they have truly earned it.

Congratulations TEAM INDIA and Sachin!!! Thanks to you, we are really very proud to be Indians today!!! JAI HIND!!