10 year revenge served sweet amidst emerging coincidental patterns

This was the 6th time that India was hosting a Cricket World Cup - ODIs (1987, 1996, 2011, 2023) and T20's (2016, 2026) combined and 5 times prior to this one they have reached at least the semifinals every single occasion. It seemed like this hallowed home record which was on the line may finally slip up this time as they were facing a rampant West Indian line up who infamously took them out in the semifinals of the 2016 T20 World Cup.

Coming to this match, there were eerie similarities to what happened in 2016. India played West Indies at Mumbai on March 31st 2016 for a place in the final and came a cropper despite putting up a size able total in excess of 190. A similar story looked like unfolding this time on March 1st 2026 especially on account of abysmal fielding by India allowing the Windies to notch up a score similar to the total put up by India in 2016. India did lose important wickets at regular intervals while chasing but Sanju Samson played the innings of his life keeping his calm & composure guiding India to a famous win and avenging revenge from 10 years back.

Just to summarise these 2 matches involving India & West Indies which were held 10 years apart, first one in 2016 and now in 2026. Both the matches were held in the month of March. The first one being on the last date of March - 31st March 2016 and the current one on the first date of March - 1st March 2026. Last time it was a semifinal played at Wankhede, Mumbai with the winner booking a place in the final at Eden Gardens Kolkata. This time it was the reverse. It was not a semifinal but a virtual quarter final knockout clash being played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata with the winner booking a place in the semifinals at Wankhede, Mumbai. Also interestingly both times, the team chasing won the match and on both occasions the team batting first set up a total in excess of 190 but fell short of the 200 mark. Both matches can also be known for their fielding mishaps and all the 4 totals set up and chased by West Indies and India across the 2 matches all fall in the range of 190's.

The date March 1st is also remembered to have a knock etched in gold as Sachin Tendulkar produced a thunderous 98 on this very date vs Pakistan in the ODI World Cup of 2003. Sanju Samson's fabulous 97 on 1st March 2026 can certainly draw parallels with respect to the class and brilliance of that sterling knock by the great Sachin Tendulkar. Both these knocks would be in the reckoning to go down in the annals as two of the greatest 90's ever scored in limited overs cricket with both coming on the same date though 23 years apart.

This win by India allowed the host nation to get to a semifinal placement once again for the 6th time running in an ICC Limited Overs World Cup. The cricketing patterns continue to get interesting as India will be meeting England for the 3rd straight time in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup having played them in 2022, 2024 and now once again in 2026. It is 1-1 a piece and it's certainly going to be a juicy mouth watering clash. Ironically the winner of this clash from the last 2 instances also went on to capture the coveted T20 World Cup.

Also for the uninitiated and especially the old timers, India and England will be clashing in a World Cup Semifinal in Mumbai after almost 4 decades as they incidentally contested in the 1987 ODI WC semifinal at Wankhede which was also the first ever World Cup hosted by India termed as the Reliance World Cup back in the day. That game didn't go to India's plan thanks largely to Graham Gooch sweeping aside India on the way to a famous win. This is a chance to avenge revenge for the acrimony of 1987. Fingers crossed and if India does get through that they have another score to settle at Ahmedabad, a ground famous to have given Indian crickets biggest teary eyed heartbreaking moment in it's rich cricketing history.

Still a long way to go but at this time savouring this epic win against the West Indies thanks predominantly to CSK recruit Sanju Samson whose blitz earned a place for India in the semifinals for the 6th consecutive time in World Cups at home. Adipoli Chetta! Hoping the magic continues for India over the next 2 games. May the divine be with Bharat Mata.

India's sterling show at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

The medal haul in the Tokyo Olympics ranks as the best ever in India's sporting history and has certainly brought immense pride and happiness to sports lovers all over the country. 7 medals overall with a dip of Gold at the fag end made it all the more momentous and something very special to remember for a lifetime. With a little more luck on the side, the tally could have even touched the double digit mark. 

Coming a little back to the period of the Pre-Olympics, things were looking quite somber and withdrawn. First up the really bad news of India's only decorated 2 time Olympic champion Sushil Kumar being put up behind bars setting a bad precedent. On top of that was the fact that many qualifying events didn't even take place due to Covid and hence some of India's medal hopefuls such as Saina Nehwal (bronze medalist at London 2012), Sakshi Malik (bronze medalist in Rio 2016), Dipa Karmakar (the gymnast who came agonizingly close to winning a medal at Rio 2016) didn't even end up participating in these games. This surely set the country back a whole lot considering lack of match practice, expected hopefuls not even qualifying and the plague of the prior Olympics notwithstanding hanging in the balance. 

From there on in to ending up winning 7 medals being a feat never achieved before is totally absolutely stupendous. Hearty congratulations to all the winners Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Gold), Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Wrestling Silver), Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting Silver), Pusarla Sindhu (Badminton Bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing Bronze), Bajrang Punia (Wrestling Bronze) and the Indian men's hockey team (Hockey Bronze). Also a huge round of applause to few other giant killers who came oh so close to grabbing glory notably Kamalpreet Kaur (Discus), the Indian women's hockey team and Aditi Ashok (Golf). It's hard to use the word commiserations here as they were literally within a whisker and just an incy wincy bit of luck either way could have swayed them to a medal. 

The immense positives apart, there were a bit of resentments also. Tennis, a sport which India is usually expected to give a fight at least from the doubles/mixed doubles front fizzled out without a trace. Also on shooting and archery where India actually fielded quite a few world rankers didn't really set the ball rolling. 

The excitement and frenzy created by the games were at an awe inspiring level. Perhaps for the first time ever, cricket actually took a back seat paving way for other sports to take over. There was so much interest for sports like Javelin, Discus and even Golf where people hardly know the rules yet wanted to follow and understand simply because of the amazing performances displayed by our stellar sportspersons. Also when you read about the humble backgrounds which most of these Olympians come from it will really make you wonder about the amount of hard work put in and sacrifices undertaken. 

This should also aid as a favorable fillip to parents wanting to enroll their children into the sporting arena. Indian parents usually go delirious when their kids achieve and there is really no field greater than sport to realize one's dream and achieve recognition at a national level. No joy can match the feat of winning laurels for the country and nothing like sport unites the entire nation.

Things are suddenly looking rosy pink after this magnificent Tokyo performance but we shouldn't forget that London 2012 games also was a big boost with India garnering 6 medals and when things were expected to get much better, we sank back big time in Rio. Hence hopefully the lessons are learnt this time and there should never be a state of going back retrograde come the next games in Paris which is now only 3 years away in 2024.

The greatest takeaway personally from these Tokyo Games is that though India is still a long way away from being a sporting powerhouse, our Olympic contingent made the world sit up and take notice through their exemplary performances. Hopefully this is a cue going forward and we should strive to win at least a double digit figure of medals going forward.