As I walked into the stadium last night, I was prepared to witness the end of an era. The level of excitement was at its pinnacle but It wasn't the only emotion that my heart exuded. There was a fear running inside me, I was scared, scared of the fact that this is the last time. This is the end. I should call myself and the 26,000 other people present there lucky but I would restrain myself from doing that. We would have been lucky if we got what we wished for. I personally wished that this era continued in the same flamboyant way as it has been but the luck was just not on my side.
Yesterday I saw two of my heroes, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, take guard for the very last time in coloured uniforms, together. The relevance of their last appearance was resonant from the large turn up at the stadium and the copious amount of emotions that pervaded the air were palpable. As both the legends walked onto the field to bat in their respective innings, the loud cheers in the ground were in immeasurable decibels, yet nothing less than a symphony to the ears.
For the 20 years that I have known and played this game, the only answer to 'What is Cricket according to you?' was, a game played by Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and thousands other players who would come and go. The time they both were at the crease yesterday made me nostalgic, all those times I sat in front of the TV and cheered for them were right in front of my eyes. The ovations they received from the crowd gave me chills, they gave me goosebumps.
There is an expiration date to almost everything that exists on this Earth but for some obvious reasons I evaded the printed dates on these two products.
Though Sachin Tendulkar will still be seen in whites, Rahul Dravid will never be seen on the field again.
You made me love Cricket the way I do now and I will always be your biggest fan.
The world of Cricket will miss you the way no one has ever missed anyone before.
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