It was a nail-biting encounter as the two teams fought with all their might to clinch the coveted title. But as luck would have it, the trophy went into the hands of the Men in Blue after the ball went into the hands of Sree Santh. In fact, the tournament was a big challenge for new Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young brigade.
The big trio of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were missing in action, and the buzz around was that the young guns wouldn't be able to steal the show without the veterans. But the young guns proved the specialists of the game wrong, and showed their class in all matches in the run up to the dream final against the archrivals.
So as young guns brought back India's lost pride after a humiliating first round exit from the World Cup in the Caribbean, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was present to grace the occasion and spell his good luck charm. Well, he is the latest sporting icon for India after the release of his film Chak De India . The film looks like a good omen for Indian sport stars.
It all started with the Indian football team creating history after lifting their first ever Nehru Cup title with a 1-0 win over a 10-man Syria in a tough final played in Delhi on August 29, 2007. The victory spurred a resurgence of football in India. Undoubtedly the win was a return of sorts of the hit movie Chak De India , in which the Indian women's hockey team comes from behind to claim the World Cup.
The next big win for Indian sport came on September 9, 2007. And this time the game that brought laurels to our country was the national sport, hockey. Amidst a roaring crowd, the Indian hockey team did something they last did four years ago - of winning a major multinational tournament - and this time it was the Asia Cup. India retained Asia Cup beating South Korea 7-2 in a hard fought final in Chennai. Not just the convincing win, but the Indian hockey team also added another feather to its cap. Its tally of 57 goals in the event became the highest for any team. Truely, a Chak de performance by the sporting sensations.
As India lifted its inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, the Indian cricket team discovered new stars on way to the Wanderers stadium. New star performer for Team India is Joginder Sharma from Haryana. The upcoming all-rounder proved his prowess, in both the semi-final clash against world champions Australia and in the high-voltage final against archrivals Pakistan. Joginder was the man who put the last nail in the rivals' coffin, both in the match against Australia and Pakistan.
High-spirited newcomer and youngster Rohit Sharma did a good job with the bat, while debutant Yusuf Pathan set the pace for India after opening his innings in the finale with a beautiful sixer.
Amidst the young guns' show, one person who really lit up the entire tournament was the experienced star Yuvraj Singh. The all-rounder has been entitled 'Mr. Sixer', courtesy the knocking sixes the ace cricketer scored. One record after the other, the man played a crucial role that helped India maintain its winning streak. He scored the fastest fifty off 12 balls, and also hit the longest six of the tournament - 119 metres.
It looks like the stars are shining for Indian sport. As the year is drawing to a close, the match winning performances of India's sporting sensations have taken the nation to a realm of success following a never-ending exhilaration. The title song of the Bollywood hit and overall the movie itself has spread its magic across all sport in India. As the adrenaline is running high with India's seemingly never-ending successes, it's time to say again Chak De India .
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