Weather in Kolkata had been playing hide and seek since Saturday morning. While on a usual day, it wouldn’t concern us much, the day when India was about to throttle Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the weather had to be in our favour.
The cricket fever was at its peak on both the side of the borders. With the history India and Pakistan share, winning the match was important for both the teams. However, weather gods were writing a different story altogether.
A heavy spell of rain had already occurred in Kolkata during the morning hours. While rainfall activity stopped during the day, the development of cumulonimbus clouds during the evening hours resulted in a short but intense spell of rain a few hours before the scheduled time of the match.
The above images show inclement weather approaching Kolkata before the match.
The effectiveness of the staff is also admirable. Just after the rain started, the Eden Gardens were totally covered. Thus, the rains had minimal effect on the pitch.
Our hearts were skipping a beat, and finally, the rain gods decided to give us that much-needed game.
Rains had stopped before the match, but the game was delayed for an hour, and the overs were reduced to 18 each. MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first after analyzing the pitch conditions after the rains.
While Pakistan scored a respectable 118 runs, Dhoni and his boys were all set to shatter Pakistan’s hope of a miraculous win. The wrong choice of bowlers by Afridi paved way for India’s win.
A splendid performance by our bowlers and an excellent inning by the Man of the Match Virat Kohli gave India what it needed, a memorable win against Pakistan.
The game finisher Dhoni helped reach India to a tie with a fabulous six and the last winning run helped write the glorious story in letters of gold.
All in all, India needed nothing more than a good game and a convincing win against the neighbours. The sound of crackers and tears of joy filled the entire country after the fabulous win.
Celebrations continued till late at night, and the intense rains could not steal that smile from Sachin Tendulkar’s face when he saw his country win that outstanding game.
Image Credit: 1- imgci.com, 2- thequnit.com, Featured: dnaindia.com
