Offside: Thanks for the memories, Team India

Watching sports can be very emotional. As the years pass and my hair becomes more gray than black, my memories often go back to September 24, 2007.

As the entire family huddled in the sweat-filled drawing room — which had as much to do with the tension on the field as it did with the sultry, overpowering Kolkata evening — we put our faith in Joginder Sharma’s gentle dollies against Misbah-ul-Haq’s batting prowess.

My Dadu (grandfather), two short of 90, had the seat nearest the television, and my Didu (grandmother), dramatically, had already exiled herself from the gathering after Sohail Tanvir had hit two sixes to plunder 15 runs from the 18th over, making it Pakistan’s game to lose. But still, there was confidence, and victory came unexpectedly when Misbah scooped the cup to Sreesanth’s lap on the third legal ball of the last over.

The festivities in that suburban Kolkata room were as loud and wild as on that field in Johannesburg. Needless to say, the old man presided over the festivities, a customary meal of Shiraz biryani was the order for the evening from his modest guest house.

Our lives are often measured by the sporting events we have witnessed and our conversations are laced with nostalgia for where we were when MS Dhoni lifted the Cup, or when Neeraj Chopra won gold at the Tokyo Olympics; years after the events had taken place.

Our joy is no less than that of the players who made this possible, and our umbilical cord to the moment is no less than theirs.

The memories of 2024 are now spiced up with Rohit Sharma’s assault on Mitchell Starc in a Super 8 match against Australia. It was a masterclass in seizing momentum. Virat Kohli had been sent off for a five-ball duck and India were six for one after two overs. It was a ripe opportunity to pile on the pressure and seize the initiative, as the Aussies often do in a must-win situation. At the Daren Sammy Stadium, Rohit converted intent into an extraordinary passage of play — 6, 6, 4, 6, 0, wide, 6 — to turn the game in India’s favour.

Time slips through our fingers and much has escaped us since that eventful September night in South Africa. Rohit had lent considerable weight to his credentials as one of India’s finest white-ball players, even as the team struggled with the suffocating expectations of a nation hungry for a world title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

In the rum-soaked, carefree Caribbean, where the air is as relaxed as the locals, Rohit, coach Rahul Dravid and their men rediscovered India’s cricketing paradise by winning the country’s second ICC T20 World Cup.

This final in Bridgetown was as nerve-wracking as it was 17 years ago, proving that time and age cannot dull the pain of a thrilling match. Heinrich Klaasen stole our dream after he smashed Axar Patel for 24 runs in the 15th over.

But dreams have a strange knack of materialising when you are on the brink of despair. Here, first Jasprit Bumrah, then Suryakumar Yadav, teetering on the brink of glory and disaster, ensured that the title went India’s way.

The festivities in the cramped but cold office in Chennai ( Sports stars air conditioner always set to arctic) were equally exuberant. But biryani brought by Dadu’s pension would have made this victory even sweeter — or spicier, in this case.

No one can celebrate a victory like the old man.