That SIXER, This SIXER

The worst nightmare for the Indian cricket fan, specially for those who had the misfortune of witnessing it live on TV, including yours truly, is without doubt Javed Miandad's last ball six off Chetan Sharma at Sharjah in 1986. The scar left behind by that insult refused to fade over the years, more so because the wound was inflicted by our arch rivals Pakistan, and, above all, by the not-so-loved Javed Miandad. If two Indians start a discussion on Indian cricket, within 5 minutes  they will be sure to broach on Chetan sharma's infamous last ball. Such is the ghost of the 'last ball six'. The internet is full of videos and stories of that event- just google 'last ball six by Javed Miandad' and you'll get 25600 results in 0.09 seconds!

25 years later, we finally have our own 'last ball six' which will hopefully erase, or at least lighten up, the memories of 1986. MS Dhoni's last ball six off Nuwan Kulusekhara at Wankhede stadium will hopefully exorcise the ghost of 1986. This six is so very special because it was the winning stroke of the finals of the ICC world-Cup 2011; it was the stroke that 1.2 billion Indians waited for, for the last 28 years; it was the stroke that brought us the world cup in the way we deserved it, and not by fluke; it was a stroke that proved that we won because we played better, and not because the other team played badly; and, above all, it will hopefully become the stroke that will strike off the 'other' last ball six from our memories...hopefully..