I have never watched a cricket match LIVE in a stadium till date.
And I did not want to miss this one for ANYTHING....!
Frantic
calls to friends and fellow Sachin fans over the last couple of
weeks... staying up till 3 AM - courtesy some desperate attempts online
on a depressingly crashed website.... and a lot more ensued.
Miraculously,
the tickets were arranged, and I was supposed to go and watch him @ the
Wankhede on Sunday (the only possible day for me)....
But God had other plans.
I
was praying, and praying hard over the last few days..... for the match
to last atleast 4 days, so that I could go and watch him on Sunday....
But the way the match progressed, it became increasingly clear that the match would end much sooner.
Even
today morning, I was praying for a miracle, for West Indies to last the
entire day today, and take atleast a slender lead, so that tomorrow,
India (read Sachin) could finish the formalities in style, with me
getting to watch the same.
But the Windies wickets
just kept tumbling today... and the end came a bit too quickly. The
hopes to see God tomorrow just came crashing down.....
I
was at office, and was mentally cribbing that I wasn't even privileged
to watch the historic moments and the presentation on TV....
And then, as I entered my director's cabin for some work, the TV was ON, and God was in the midst of his farewell speech....
I just stood there, and watched him speak, and as he spoke.... tears started streaming down my eyes......
Heard
the immortal speech.... Watched him take the lap around the ground....
And then the finale - God walking across to the pitch one last time, and
touching it as a mark of respect.... and walking away in tears......
My tears just didn't stop flowing... and the lump in the throat was painful....
... and all this, right in front of my Director, in his cabin.....
Neither of us said a word to each other.... just kept watching.....
At the end of it, I just thanked my director, and left. The lump in the throat, and the tears, continued for a long while after.
Truly blessed to have been part of the SACHINCREDIBLE experience all these years.
Miss
You terribly God...! There will never be another like you! Thanks for
being the wonderful human being that you have always been....!
I
doubt I would ever visit a stadium to watch a match in my life... It
didn't happen all these years; and now, the desire no longer exists....
The game of cricket will sure go on, and new stars and newer records will emerge.
But for me, it will always, ALWAYS be..... Sachiiiiinnnn.... SACHIN.....!!!
Thanks, for everything!
