¡°The Indian team is at the top of the table in Cricket World Cup, and yet I¡¯m worried,¡± I said to a friend at a party last night.?
¡°Why?¡± he asked.
¡°Because cricket, they say, is a game of glorious uncertainties. We now have just three matches to play. A game with Netherlands, and then the semi-finals and the finals.¡±
¡°And we¡¯ll win them all,¡± he said.?
¡°But I¡¯m worried,¡± I said. ¡°If we have to lose, let¡¯s lose to the Netherlands, and then win the remaining two matches.¡±?
¡°No, no!¡± he said, ¡°How can we lose to the Netherlands after beating more experienced teams? That would result in an inglorious certainty of making the entire country unhappy.¡±?
¡°Whether we win or lose against the Netherlands, we are going to be in semis anyway,¡± I said.
¡°But why do you want to lose?¡± he asked.
¡°In a very Indian way, like we put kajal on a baby¡¯s face to ward off the evil eye, let¡¯s lose a match now, then win the remaining two and win the world cup.¡±
¡°Why are you two so obsessed with winning?¡± his wife asked, and added, ¡°Participation is more important than winning.¡±?
"That slogan is made to console those who didn't win," her husband said.
¡°I don¡¯t mind losing,¡± she said. ¡°I respect the spirit of the game. In fact, we should be gracious hosts and let one of the guests win.¡±
My friend and his wife glared at each other. They seemed ready for a verbal contest like an India-Pakistan match, so I put my hands on my shoulders like an umpire being forced to change his decision after a review, and walked away.
I believe I¡¯m a gentleman, like the game of cricket. But I want us to win, especially because we have played so well so far, plus we have such a great team, all members fitting together like a perfect jigsaw, one rising when one falls, to take the team through, every time.
I saw a dream this morning.?
It is the World Cup final, and India is batting.?
Faith and Hope are watching, sitting among the spectators, most of whom are from foreign nations, greatly outnumbering these two and wishing for the opponent¡¯s victory.?
Law of Probability (the probability of an outcome realised through several possibilities) and Law of Averages (future events are likely to turn out so that they balance any past deviation from an average) are in the slips.?
And Murphy¡¯s law (Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time) is the aggressive wicketkeeper, viciously sledging India.?
Murphy¡¯s words make me cringe. I hear them clearly because I¡¯m at Silly Point, bending and ready but unwilling to take a catch. My hands appear poised to grab the outside edge, but I have actually folded them in prayer as I wonder if we might lose the match...??
And I wake up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, BP rising.
Alas, this shall continue till the 19th, for me and millions of Indians, as we hope and pray.
Yes, I want us to win, and for another reason, too.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are 36 years old; Ravindra Jadeja is 35, Shami is 33 and I am 63.?
Who knows how many of them would be playing and how many like me would be around during the next World Cup??
The writer is a former fighter pilot of the IAF and is now a commercial airline pilot. He is the author of three novels and many blog posts, available at?www.avinashchikte.com