Spain's Clutch Mentality in Finals and Sporting Dominance in the 21st Century

Spain capped off a brilliant campaign by emerging victorious at the FIFA World Cup 2026. It was their second triumph and both their wins came at extra time when they scored the solitary most needed goal to attain glory. Their dogged resistance came to the fore once again as they maintained a clean sheet to keep the Argentinians at bay akin to what they did to all other teams during this World Cup. They've just managed to concede a singular goal during the whole tournament and this clearly establishes their forte in defense. The Spanish deadlock was pretty brutal for every single team to dislodge with virtually all of them getting knocked down in the process.

Spain also with this win go 38 matches unbeaten on the trot which is a pretty phenomenal record. They didn't come in as pre tournament favourites and in fact were on equal footing with Portugal who they took out in the round of 16. Almost everyone expected France to displace them especially with the form underplayed by the French going into the semi final but the rock solid Spanish defense couldn't be breached even by the attacking French. In the final they went toe to toe against the defending champions and completely cut their game out left right and center not granting even the slightest shot on goal throughout the entirety of 120 minutes inclusive of extra time.

What is really impressive about Spain is how they have suddenly become a world beating powerhouse in sports during the 21st century. Till the turn of Y2K, they didn't have a single World Cup victory let alone even coming close to the summit clash. It was a similar story with the European football championship as well where they were never major title contenders and was just a team participating.

Not only have they put this title drought to rest, another sterling feature about them is their clutch mentality and knowing how to upscale their game to the finest and fullest especially come the big finals. For a team who've hardly even reached any major tournament final pre 2000, their mental finesse and fortitude requires some serious studying because their final feats are simply impeccable.

They are the only team to win 2 World Cups since the turn of the century and also the only side to claim 3 Euros in the last 25 years. No European nation have even won twice. The other strong European nations have had some setback or other in finals but Spain possess an ultra clean slate record which is true monster mentality. They are 5-0 in finals having won the 2010 WC and 2026 WC against Netherlands & Argentina respectively. In the Euros they've accounted for Germany, Italy and England in the 3 title finals won in 2008, 2012 and 2024.

With this World Cup victory, the men also join the women's team who were crowned champions in the last held FIFA Women's World Cup that took place in the Trans Tasman countries of Australia and New Zealand in the year 2023 when the Spanish women went one past England in the final to claim their maiden World Cup. The Spanish men's team have also managed to conquer a unique treble as they are now the current holders of Euro (Euro 2024 in Germany), Olympic Gold (Gold Medalist in Paris 2024) and the World Cup (FIFA World Cup 2026 in USA, Canada & Mexico).

Veering away slightly from the national team and their successes in Euro and World Cups in finals, their 2 premier clubs are no slouches too when it comes to the big finales. Both of them have an unenviable jaw dropping milestone of winning every single final in this century which they have contested in the UEFA Champions League which is the most lucrative and well renowned club contest where all the major clubs participate from Europe to win this foremost competition. As alluded to earlier, from 2000 onwards Real Madrid has won all 8 finals that it has played and Barcelona all the 4 finals that it has participated.

Spaniards really know to step up when it comes to finals of sporting events and it's been evident especially since Y2K. In the sport of tennis, their all time great Rafael Nadal has accounted for 22 Grand Slams out of which 14 has come in a singular slam viz the Roland Garros. What is even more staggering is that he has won every single of the 14 finals and not even one of them went the distance towards a 5th set. The rising up and coming sensation Carlos Alcaraz who inaugurated the kickoff of the FIFA World Cup 2026 has already won 7 of the 8 slam finals he has played in at the tender age of 23.

The Spanish clutch mentality is seriously mind boggling. They have not only mastered the art of winning big tournaments and especially when it comes to finals they simply seem unmatchable and win with ease. It's quite unfathomable how unfazed they are towards the big matches and soak in the pressure with absolute restraint and calmness. The Spanish Armageddon has certainly set the sporting world on fire after being relatively quiet and just sailing along across the 20th century without any major world title to boast of. But things have changed dramatically with their dominant sporting culture and steely attitude to seize up the huge moments and come out victorious is truly admirable and certainly a characteristic which many nations can take a cue from. They go about their work quietly and know exactly when to step up the way forward as they truly exemplified with a master class illustration in this recently bygone FIFA World Cup 2026. Vamos Espana!.

England and the Art of Choking in Sporting World Cups

England bottled up a monumental opportunity to get through to the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after 60 years. They had everything aligned for them and even in this must win match up, they had control for most of the game leading 1-0 and needed to play out hardly about 10 minutes or so to register a historic date in the final which would have been their first since 1966 where they emerged triumphant in the finals against West Germany in front of a packed home stadium of Wembley with the entire country going bananas.

But alas, it was not to be. When they had to step up and seize the initiative they handed it back to Argentina who grabbed it with both hands scoring a goal and leveling proceedings towards end of full time and enabling one more just into extra time to kill the game beyond England's reach. England were woeful, pathetic and diabolic to say the least. It was an epic melt down of sorts at the most crucial juncture of a semi final and what looked like giving their fans a date to remember ended up flaming in the ashes in absolute disarray.

The English were caught short napping with their tactics and thought they could get away with just few minutes remaining to tick in the clock. They totally lost possession and were just hoping or rather praying that Argentina wouldn't equalize especially with time at their advantage. However the steely resolve of 'La Albiceleste' derailed the 'Three Lions' by running through their brittle defense to grab the much needed 2 goals. 

This was a chance for England to avenge revenge from the ill fated clash exactly 40 years ago when the infamous Hand of God goal along with one of the greatest goals ever scored enabled Argentina to knock out the English on way to a famous world cup win. In 1986 it was the Hand of God goal of Diego Maradona causing heartbreak and this time in 2026 it was the Left Feet of God ala Lionel Messi aiding with 2 assists sealing an improbable victory.

England disappointing at the biggest stage however has been a perennial occurrence. Perhaps this could be their greatest ever slipped opportunity but over the last 3 decades they have always found themselves coming up hollow in crucial encounters by choking, panicking and eventually botching it up causing chagrin of the highest order for their sports loving spectators. Its not just in football but even in other sports they have missed plenty of chances to claim the biggest crown.

Its a shame that a sporting nation like England still has to fall back on the 1966 triumph that occurred 60 years back and the wait is only going to get longer with their recent exit. In 1998, they pushed Argentina to the brim but fell away in the penalty shoot out. During 2002, in the quarter final they took the lead against eventual champion Brazil only to grant it back and allow them to score another to seal victory. 2006 was another penalty potboiler as they bowed out to Portugal. 8 years back in 2018, they were knocked out in the semis to unfancied Croatia yet again after taking the lead and in 2022, a penalty miss by their talisman Harry Kane made sure they go out to France. 2026 they had all bases covered and looked to finally overcome their 60 year cursed hoodoo when a chaotic shambles of a performance in the last quarter of the game enabled to emerge a come back from behind victory for the Argentinians. 

I read a few comparisons of England equaling their choking nature in football akin to South Africa's tendencies in cricket where they have stumbled many a time in crucial world cup encounters. But the going in cricket also doesn't give for pretty reading. England finally won their first ODI World Cup only in their 4th shot at the final and even that triumph in 2019 was mired in controversy as a tied game was granted to them due to a dubious boundary related decision making fracas. They lost the 1979 ODI WC final at home to the West Indies and in 1987 squandered away a golden buffet literally handing the cup to the Aussies thanks to a needless reverse sweep by Captain Mike Gatting. The following World Cup they again came undone against Pakistan in the final, a team they had bowled out for just 74 in the group stage encounter. Coming to the other premier ODI competition next in line to the World Cup viz the Champions Trophy, they again dwindled at the crucial stage not being able to claim a single title. In 2 of these Championships held in England during the 2004 and 2013 edition they reached the finals and on both occasions they suppressed by not being able to take the initiative despite having the opposition on the mat in the finale vs West Indies in 2004. In the 2013 final, they literally had the match in the bag but a late order squeeze by Indian bowlers aided by nervousness from the English batsman ensured that they manage to lose by a wafer thin margin. Again it was 2 major missed opportunities to win a global cricketing tournament that too at home and that too after getting to the final and that too dominating most part of the match only to eventually lose out. In the T20 World Cup format, they are better off having claimed 2 titles but even there they missed a massive chance to add 2 more. In the 2016 final in India, Ben Stokes was smoked for 4 consecutive sixes in the final over to establish West Indies win a match which looked pretty impossible. 10 years later in 2026, they had the match in the balance and were well in control against host India in the semifinals at Wankhede, Mumbai but again failed to capitalize and advance to the final.

Rugby stakes also doesn't bode well for a pretty picture when it comes to knock out clashes. Yes, they held their nerve to beat the hosts Aussies in spectacular fashion in a memorable final night at Sydney in the 2003 World Cup but against the same Wallabies at home in the 1991 final at Twickenham they were undone. Also they were at the receiving end in the finals twice at the hands of the Springboks both in 2007 and 2019. In the last World Cup of 2023, at the semifinal stage they were leading South Africa but got robbed falling one point short from advancing to the final.

There definitely seems to be something psychologically wrong with England when it comes to big World Cup tournaments. Many a time they have assembled a team which had all the ammunition to compete against the very best in the world but somehow they repeatedly fall short lacking the killer instinct to punch their way about especially when it comes to dire situations and also architect a choke of the highest proportion at the business end frequently. Since the main topic was on football, it is quite shocking the number of times they have lost out on penalty shoot outs. You can be rest assured that once it gets there to that stage, England have a mental imbalance and know in the mind that they have already lost it. In Euro 2020 at a home final in Wembley they plundered in the shoot out to Italy and another blunder took place in the following Euro 2024 to Spain making them lose back to back Euro finals similar to losing 2 back to back cricket ODI World Cups in 1987 & 1992. England have never reached a final of the FIFA World Cup since 1966 but in recent times both in 2018 and 2026 as alluded earlier they screwed up royally in the semifinals after taking the lead and being minutes away from playing at the biggest stage of their lives.

England's choking howlers needs to be analysed intricately. They have been everlasting under achievers for eternity now. I cannot fathom how many World Cup triumphs they would have had even if they had converted half of all those missed possibilities. It almost feels like for the opposition, England is a soft target especially when it comes to knock out fixtures because this kind of blasphemous blow out is simply unacceptable to comprehend. They come up with immense hype and extraordinary expectations every time only flattering to deceive time and again by hitting the stumbling block perpetually. They really epitomize the characteristic of "All Fart No Shit". They definitely need to address and do something about this going forward so as to prevent this mourning from persisting repeatedly. It must be so heart breaking for the fans every time to see their beloved English side failing to seize the initiative and actually end up victorious. This FIFA World Cup 2026 story is another chapter in England's checkered sporting history of coming so close only to falter. What looked like coming home finally after 60 years got snatched away in the last minute eluding them once again making the wait longer and hope continuing to linger.

The End of Bazball - Bumpy, Tawdry and Haywire

With the surprisingly bizarre decision of Ben Stokes to retire in the middle of a test match with the series being on the line, it can well be officially stated that this reign of Bazball has finally come to an end with this home series against New Zealand. Coincidentally Bazball began it's tenure at this very ground of Trent Bridge against the very same opposition of New Zealand and also ending in the same stadium against the same team. As aptly summarised by Michael Atherton in the comm box "Bazball dies where it began".

For the uninitiated, Bazball is a term coined for the English cricket team led by Coach Brendon McCullum and Captain Ben Stokes. If one goes further, it can also said to include Robert Key, the head of the management of the England Cricket Board (ECB) who was also a former player. Bazball points to an ultra aggresive style of play much against the traditional norm of test cricket with the key word being entertainment guaranteed. This movement started around the mid of 2022 and has come to an end exactly in the middle of 2026 with the captain Stokes calling it quits from the game.

Bazball stemmed as a result of poor England performance prior to this period where they had managed to win just one test match of their last 17 played with very many embarrassing defeats along the way. A change of guard and approach was sought and seemed like the need of the hour which brought about the introduction of this maverick style of play which is generally not associated or suited with English cricket.

Bazball began well initially but has been on a constant downward sloping curve since the last couple of years. It is camouflaged and sugarcoated to show as if England have been world beaters in entertaining but in essence if you look at the record it's been pretty deplorable to say the least. Also it's only gotten worse over time with no change of plan or strategy to address the leak of losses.

Listed below is a list of series performed under the Bazball regime from the time it took over in 2022. Most of the matches were captained by Ben Stokes. The odd match or two were led by Ollie Pole/Joe Root on account of Stokes absence.

1) - Vs NZ Home: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

2) - Vs Ind Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

3) - Vs SA Home: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

4) - Vs Pak Away: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

5) - Vs NZ Away: Drawn 1-1 (2 tests)

6) - Vs Ire Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

7) - Vs Aus Home: Drawn 2-2 (5 tests)

8) - Vs Ind Away: Lost 4-1 (5 tests)

9) - Vs WI Home: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

10) - Vs SL Home: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

11) - Vs Pak Away: Lost 2-1 (3 tests)

12) - Vs NZ Away: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

13) - Vs Zim Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

14) - Vs Ind Home: Drawn 2-2 (5 tests)

15) - Vs Aus Away: Lost 4-1 (5 tests)

16) - Vs NZ Home: Lost 2-1 (3 tests)

If one observes in this tenure between 2022-26, England have played a whopping 49 tests claiming 28 victories, losing 19 and drawing just 2. The record doesn't look all too bad on paper but when you peek close a lot further you would observe that their record against the top teams was shockingly poor and nothing to write home about. 

Against both India and Australia, they lost the away series 4-1 and at home only managed to eke out a 2-2 draw. They played a then weakened South Africa side only once that too at home and managed to win 2-1. Against New Zealand, they ended up losing their home record which was preserved till this last series by going down 2-1. Even against Pakistan, initially they won 3-0 away and in the subsequent series over there they actually lost 2-1. So it's clearly a downward sloping curve for England. One more glooming record is that they started out this campaign at 10-1 winning their first ten out of 11 matches played under Bazball. From there it's definitely been downhill. They were on the verge of winning their first 11 out of 12 but after that one run defeat to New Zealand in early 2023, it's been quite a steep fall. From a 10-1 start at the inception of Bazball, they end 2-7 concluding with a demolition at the hands of archrivals Australia in the Ashes and a home series defeat to the Black Caps.

Also seeing things from the perspective of World Test Championship, they have been nowhere close to making it to the Top 2 finalists across the 3 cycles of this incumbency. They have cracked down with time and only gotten from bad to worse to even diabolic at most times. The resurgence in 2022 which felt like a golden light unfolding got dimmed way too soon and they got caught up or in fact even slammed against the better teams especially Australia and India. India were in fact fielding a makeshift squad in 2025 and still managed to draw the series 2-2 and later when the Poms toured down under they absolutely got mauled black and blue.

All this hullabaloo of entertaining test cricket and bringing back audiences to fall in love with the game holds true only if you win test matches. It's pitifully pointless if you're going to keep bashing at every delivery and tumbling your way towards monumental defeats. There was so much of talk & hype towards the away Ashes series but England were caught napping as they played deplorable cricket losing wickets in piles thanks largely to brain dead batting and wrest the Ashes back in a mere 11 days to the Aussies.

It is very clear that this brand of Bazball cricket is faltering. It did start reasonably fairly well no doubt but has completely headed down south over the period of time. There have been no plans whatsoever to address difficult situations especially on tacky wickets and mindless slam bang slogging has gotten them nowhere. With the retirement of Ben Stokes, their talismanic cricketer it's only going to get worse for England. It's time to rebuild and reshape the future by applying some common sense. It's certainly going to take some time for sure but if they keep continuing this senseless approach of playing test cricket like how they are currently, they will be hovering in the lower rung. 

It's time England stop this entitlement about themselves as it's pretty evident the results aren't coming. The timing of the retirement of Ben Stokes was circus of the highest order and on top of it the showboating of all the events playing out right in the middle of a match and series being on the line displayed pandemonium at it's peak. There are news coming about that their coach will also be losing the job. There is no doubt that a revamp is required for English cricket and some strong changes needs to be implemented in the system before things go completely bonkers which appears to be the case at this point in time. The survival of test cricket requires a competitive England and major decisions have to be taken before it all completely goes out of hand.

Written in the stars - A Maiden Women's ODI World Cup Triumph!

Just as the clock ticked past 12, when Nadine De Klerk drove Deepti Sharma's delivery uppishly with Harmanpreet Kaur leaping backwards and taking a high held catch igniting India's victory sparking off an eruption of joy resulting in unreal celebrations, it felt like a new era in Indian women's cricket had dawned. The Indian Women bleeding blue had done the unthinkable and garnered India a famous World Cup victory on home soil. The pinpoint precision in the timing was simply profound because 78 summers ago just as the time stroked past 12 AM in the wee hours of 15th August 1947 was when our great nation India was christened Independence. The serendipity with respect to the timing couldn't have been more poetic.

Winning a World Cup stands as a monumental historic achievement for any nation. When it occurs at home with the crowds swooning and cheering for you it makes the experience all the more special. Having said that however, losing a World Cup final at home backed by billions of people wanting you to cross over the line and when you end up falling short that pain is the worst heartbreaking feeling ever. Nothing can ever beat the scar of such a defeat as it's absolutely gut wrenching especially disappointing innumerable hearts. We all cried with Rohit & Virat when the 2023 WC final slipped out of our hands. All those commanding nonchalant wins throughout the tourney counted for nothing because at the end the victory was not Team India's. It's just a game at the end of the day but there is a massive difference between winning and coming second especially in a team sport like cricket.

As a cricketing fan, this particular win makes the heart beam with pride and swell with joy. Although not in entirety, it has definitely helped in healing to an extent and exorcising the ghosts of the past. As a young youth, watching the Indian men's team succumb to Australia in the 2003 ODI WC final in South Africa was pretty traumatising. Many would say that it was an all conquering invincible Aussie side but if ever there was a team who could upstage the Aussies it was India. After losing their initial encounter to Australia pretty badly, the team led by Saurav Ganguly played fearless cricket winning all the rest of their matches with relative ease. The Aussies although unbeatable had a few slip ups in games against NZ and Eng where they were under the cosh for much of the time. However come the final, the Aussies were simply unconquerable and showed their prowess by asserting their supremacy. I was waiting with bated breath for that 20 year pain to erase in the home ODI World Cup of 2023 but alas only for it to be accentuated much further. India who looked simply untouchable all through the tournament came a cropper right at the very final in front of a jam packed stadium. It was the most perfect way for their 2 talismans Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli to go on a high but instead ended up being a nightmare with tears in truckloads as the 2 unassuming legends were not able to take it crying profusely and uncontrollably. That was the most unbearable loss ever in the history of Indian cricket. There was however some redemption the following year with India finally claiming a T20 World Cup victory albeit not at home but in the Caribbean.

When it came to the Women's game, India did reach the finals of the ODI World Cup twice earlier in 2005 and 2017. In the 2005 edition, an inexperienced Indian side was simply blown away by the Aussies. The 2017 defeat however was hard to soak in. After overcoming the indomitable Aussies in the semifinals thanks courtesy to current captain Harmanpreet Kaurs blitz, the Indians blew away a golden opportunity to win their first ever major title. It was an inexplicable collapse of epic proportions as India bottled up the chase with not even 30 required off the last 5 overs and plenty of wickets still in hand. I remember having seen the events playing out and was simply aghast and distraught. India were literally handed the match on a silver leaved platter but they ended up spilling it by choking beyond imagination.

In 2025, with a home World Cup looming large, India's performance in the group stages was patchy to say the least. They had to do some extra heavy lifting to even reach the semifinals. Their opponent yet again was the almighty Aussies who everyone including the hardcore Indian fan knew were simply too strong to contend with and will probably be brushing aside the Indian side with consummate ease. With Aussies putting up a total of over 330 on the board, it looked like a familiar story unfolding only for the Indians to make a remarkable comeback and exercise the greatest chase ever in the history of the women's game. The celebrations after the semifinals were unparalleled. Must admit however that it felt a little overboard considering the job still had to be done with India's final holy grail still lurking. It was drawing parallels to the win over the Kiwis in the men's ODI WC semifinal of 2023 giving an impression of India already holding one hand at the trophy. 

The final had it's moments. India who were inserted to bat first on a belter ended up a wee bit short of 300 on a batting paradise of a pitch at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. It just looked par for the course with the final nerves playing foul as India looked well on course for a score close to about 350 after having laid the platform. The South Africans too were unrelenting especially with their Captain Architect Laura Wolvaardt leading from the front with a scintillating century backing up with the ton scored in the semifinals. However it felt clearly that the stars and signs were on India's side as regular breakthroughs enabled India to cap off a victory for the ages.

The players apart, it's also a beautiful story of redemption for coach Amol Mazumdar. Amol was once touted to be one of India's future cricketing stars after beginning his Ranji career in stellar fashion with a double century on debut. There is also a famous tale of him sitting with his pads on for 2 days not being able to bat with fellow Mumbaikars Vinod Kambli & Sachin Tendulkar stitching up an awe inspiring partnership of 664 runs in the Harris Shield tournament. Mazumdar like the hallowed yesteryear greats Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel never ended up representing India and now to be a part as the coach of the World Cup winning Indian women's team speaks wonders.

It was also lovely to see Sachin Tendulkar in the stands who finally won an ODI World Cup in 2011 in his 6th attempt at his beloved Aamchi Mumbai on that historic night of 2nd April 2011. Another heartfelt moment was watching Rohit Sharma witnessing the Indian team winning the World Cup on home soil. Rohit, the captain of the men's ODI World Cup team of 2023 missed out on the opportunity of capturing a home World Cup with India's campaign coming to an end in an agonising manner with a defeat in the final on this very month 2 years prior dated 19th November 2023. Additionally seeing ex Indian women players who missed out on world cup glory such as Anjum Chopra, Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj hold aloft the trophy was truly heartwarming.

One of the greatest signs signalling an Indian victory was the performance of Shafali Varma, the player of the match. She was not even part of the initial squad but an unforeseen accidental injury to their star opener Prathika Rawal resulted in her being added to the squad. In the semifinals she had failed to get going and come the final her place was still in question. At the end, she proved to be the major difference with not only her sterling 87 but also those uncanny 2 wickets which came out of the blue. It was fantasy at it's finest. Another player who was dropped midway through the tournament - Jemimah Rodrigues was the one who played a major role with a sparkling half century to enable India beat NZ to get to the semifinals and then playing one of the greatest knocks ever in the semifinal vs Australia putting India on course to a home World Cup final. Another starlet was the much criticised Deepti Sharma who happens to be the only male or female to secure a half century and take 5 wickets in an ODI World Cup final and to boot ending up with the player of the tournament award. Smriti Mandhana's performance as an opener with crucial knocks also set the pace with her tally being the highest ever in an ODI World Cup by an Indian women. One must also not forget the catch plucked at the 3rd attempt by Amanjot bringing to an end Laura Wolvaardt's brilliant innings thus thwarting the South African crusade. The punchy knocks towards the end by wicket keeper Richa Ghosh also proved to be a key decisive factor in India's crucial victories. Another revelation was young Shree Charani who kept the scoring rate at bay along with chipping in with pivotal breakthroughs. 

The stars also shone brightly on India's side with coincidental similarities to the men's ODI World cup winning side of 2011 with respect to the date, city, Nakshatra in operation and Captain finishing with the final flurry towards the end. Summarising the sameness below:

- Apr 2nd 2011, Mumbai, Uthirattathi (Uttara Bhadrapada) star⭐, India win men's ODI WC at home for the first time. Captain Dhoni secures it with the winning six.

- Nov 2nd 2025, Mumbai, Uthirattathi (Uttara Bhadrapada) star⭐, India win women's ODI WC at home for the first time. Captain Harman claims it with the winning catch.

This victory coming 78 years after India's Independence in 1947, 42 years after Indian men's conquest at the ODI WC of 1983 and 14 years after India's famous ODI world cup victory at home soil in 2011 marks a seismic shift. The 1983 victory paved a revolution with the Indian men's game growing from strength to strength with India being a major cricketing powerhouse in the years that followed. This victory by our Desi girls has the potential to spark off a change of guard and herald a new rise in the women's game by providing hope to generations of youngsters. Have to wait and watch as to how things will eventually transpire but at this point tremendously grateful to these girls for providing us a night to remember in rejoicing this vicarious victory and making every Indian extremely proud with this epoch making performance for the ages.

South Africa's redemption and date with destiny!

South Africa have perennially been the most unluckiest team when it comes to the sport of cricket. They have produced absolute genius cricketers across their rich history but when it came to world cricket tournaments, luck always deserted them. Due to apartheid, they were cut off from the cricketing fraternity for decades together deeming them not being able to participate in any of the first 4 ODI World Cups held in 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1987. Their casting away from the game also meant that few of their hallmark cricketers such as the Pollock brothers Peter & Graeme, opening batsman Barry Richards, all rounder Mike Procter and a slew of others got limited opportunities to represent the Rainbow nation and showcase their prowess on the global stage.

Once South Africa made their way back into the cricketing circle from 1991 onwards, ill luck has hit them constantly like a plague which just seemed unrelenting. It was almost a case of 'oh so near yet so far' every time that it felt like a farce with them repeatedly failing towards the final hurdle come what may. Also some of the consequences made it feel like as if there was an almighty's curse hanging on around this nation for eternity. This was however not resonated in the other sport which South Africa is passionate about viz Rugby where they were able to reel off 4 World Cup titles in which they always used to have that extra ammunition to win those major titles. The killer instinct and that lady luck was more prevalent with the Rugby team and an ample example of that was them winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup Quarter finals, Semi finals and Final all by a solitary point.

When it came to cricket, since their readmission, they have been one of the most consistent teams but without any result to show of. Apart from spells of bad luck, they've had a tough time dealing with their arch enemies from the Southern Hemisphere Australia especially and New Zealand to some extent when it came to knockout clashes. In every alternate ODI World Cup from the time they started participating viz 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015 and 2023, the Proteas were undone in the semifinals with luck also playing foil against them.

When it came to ODI World Cups, they had a sterling display in their very first major tournament viz the 1992 ODI World Cup held in Australia & New Zealand. In their semifinal encounter, they were robbed off against England when a despicable rain rule put paid to them going further in their frontier. With 22 required off 13 deliveries, rain intervention revised it to 22 off 7 and then finally 22 off 1 delivery which meant South Africa's stellar progress ended in a rather dubious and wretched way. This streak of bad luck that got implanted in 1992 just continued on and on across years and decades. In the 1996 ODI WC, they had an unblemished record winning all 5 games convincingly in the group stage only to play the lowest ranked side from the other group West Indies with Brian Lara scoring a brilliant century and knocking them out of the WC in the only match which they lost. 

1999 was the most hurting as they again had a seriously amazing campaign and went out on a tied encounter with the Aussies in the semifinals. They had the match in the grasp but unfortunate turn of events made them fall short in their progress yet again. The 2003 home ODI WC was a bitterly disappointing experience for them with rain again playing havoc and a wrong reading of the rules making them exit the tournament much to the chagrin of the home fans who were shattered no end. There was a misreading of the DLS par score which the Proteas thought was the winning score only to be later told that they ended up one run short marking a shocking exit from the tournament in the group stages.

The 2007 WC in the Caribbean again saw them through in their passage to the semifinals setting up a mouth watering clash with their hardcore rivals Aussies who were instrumental in knocking them out from the 1999 WC. It was a chance to avenge revenge but alas it was not meant to be as an invincible Australian side was just too strong on that day. In 2011 South Africa were the only side to defeat eventual World Cup champions India but came a cropper against the Kiwis in spin friendly conditions despite not having to chase a major total in the quarter final stage.

When it finally looked like the moment of reckoning was going to be fulfilled, South Africa were knocked out in the semifinals of the 2015 ODI WC in a clash of the ages against the hosts Kiwis. It was shell shocking to see their 2 marquee men Dale Steyn and AB Devilliers crestfallen no end. Here again it was a rain curtailed match which somehow played in the hands of the Kiwis. One would reckon that a full 50 over game could have had a different result but that's the way it is with luck and South Africa always going in polar directions. The 2019 ODI WC was a rebuilding phase with many of their senior pros not being part of the squad and it ended in a dismaying outcome where they couldn't qualify to the semifinals. This was probably the only ODI WC where South Africa were nowhere near coming close to being champions.

The 2023 ODI WC saw a familiar story unfolding. After a creditable run in the group stages, they set up a clash with the Aussies in the semifinals who they were facing for a third time at this phase. When questions were asked whether South Africa would be third time lucky, the same hoodoo transpired yet again. It was a double whammy as they not only lost to Australia their perennial rivals but also to rain with weather playing spoilsport as always is the case with them. Kolkata was in the midst of cold hazy climate with ball swinging in all directions and the Aussies exploited the early advantage by scalping quick wickets and putting the Saffers on the mat. Despite defending a low score, South Africa fought hard and made a meat of it but again it was the grit and resolve of Australia who are always known to be exceptional in such stages that managed to win a closely fought low scoring chase.

Apart from the ODI World Cup, this pandemic hex was evident in the T20 World Cup as well albeit not to the same extent in terms of foiled attempts. In the 2009 T20 WC, South Africa came in as firm favourites winning all their games setting up a semi final shootout with Pakistan. In a closely contested game, the Saffers lost out eventually falling short by 7 runs. The 2014 T20 WC semifinal saw them being gunned down by India courtesy largely a Virat Kohli chasing masterclass. The indisputable crowning choking moment was reserved for the T20 World Cup final of 2024. South Africa who were always vary when it came to knockouts and especially semifinals finally got a shot to play their first ever World cup final with their opponents being India. Chasing a target set of 176, South Africa were well on course and firmly placed to win with just a run a ball 30 to get off the last 5 overs which in general parlance of a T20 format or any version whatsoever is a walk in the park. But they bottled it up by choking at the most inopportune time with just 26 required off the last 4 overs. It was a fightback of epic proportions by India and South Africa's worst fears came compounding drastically as they lost this final title clash by a mere 7 runs. All those history of bad luck got accentuated and this almost felt like a God sent message that South Africa can just forever bid goodbye to winning a world title. It was just too hard to digest the pain for a South African supporter after all the years of extreme disappointments notwithstanding. South Africa's only triumph remained the title won in the inaugural ICC Champions trophy held 27 years back in 1998. At that time it was christened as the ICC Knockout. Since then 27 years have passed with no major world title of repute.

And then when it all felt lost, finally the moment of reckoning culminated and got conquered on 14th June 2025. It was the 3rd World Test Championship and it was the first time that the Proteas managed to reach the finals. The format of this test cycle has been questioned and debated a lot but South Africa did no wrong in managing to reach the final across 2 years of competing with 8 other teams in the competition. And guess what their final title rival was yet again Australia who have been their nemesis on multiple occasions across decades. This was seen as a David vs Goliath battle with Australia red hot favourites to lift the WTC title for a second time running. All of South Africa's heartbreaks with Australia have always come in the semifinals having lost the ODI WC of 1999, 2007 and 2023. In 2015 when an impending ODI WC final looked like looming large between Aus vs SA, the Kiwis came in the way and averted it. Thus for the first time, South Africa got to play Australia in a final but having known Australia's daunting record in finals and also their hegemony at Lords having hardly lost a test match there over the last century, it seemed too hard an ask to even expect for the Proteas to topple the men adorning the Baggy Green. Over the last 25 years dating back to 1999, Australia had won 9 of their 10 finals adding 5 ODI WCs (1999,2003,2007,2015,2023), 2 CT (2006,2009), a T20 WC (2021) and defending champions of WTC (2023). Their only defeat in the final over this period was to England in the 2010 T20 WC. 

South Africa however finally managed to have their slice of history which they had been waiting with bated breadth for 27 years. The Proteas eventually won a World cricket title after years of agony and pain. It came in the most purest form of Test cricket deeming it extra special. To add to the touch of magic was that it was against their greatest cricketing rivals Australia who have been one of the major adversaries in South Africa being traumatised down the years especially in global ICC events. Another tinge of icing was the fact that the weather for once actually saved them by enabling to bat on a Day 3 Lords pitch which had eased out with the sun shining leading to perfect batting conditions. It was however not all hunky dory as South Africa were shot out for a paltry score in the first innings conceding a good enough lead of 80 runs to the Aussies. In the second innings, with Australia reeling at 73/7, South Africa's perpetual woes of not closing out things came to haunt with the lower order contributing over 130 runs setting up a competitive target of 282 runs.

It was however South Africa's moment in the sun having gutted out and putting a performance of fine calibre shunting out the Aussie bowlers by having a remarkable Day 3. The resolute partnership between centurion Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma blunted out the Aussies from making any sort of comeback. And when the final runs were scored, it sparked off a sea of celebration with an air of excitement that was palpable. South Africa had finally achieved their pinnacle moment of winning a World Championship for the first time ever in their storied cricketing legacy. It was also their first global ICC tournament victory which had come after 27 years in 1998.

South Africa's cricketing journey in the global stage is punctuated with acrimony aplenty with them being labelled as everlasting chokers. Two of their defining disheartening defeats came in the month of June, one being a year earlier to India in the 2024 T20 WC and the other being almost 26 years to the day in that epic semifinal showdown against Australia at Edgbaston in the ODI WC 1999. This victory ironically was also achieved in the meritorious month of June making the bitterness of the past deliciously extra sweet. This has been a long time coming and they deserve to cherish and celebrate every bit of this momentous occasion that will be etched in South African cricketing folklore. This win by South Africa is a story of redemption and hope for what the country has gone through all these years and it's befitting that they finally marked their date with destiny.

Alcaraz's Remarkable Roland Garros Conquest amidst Crazy Coincidences!

Carlos Alcaraz pulled off one of the greatest heists in ages to seal an improbable Roland Garros Championship. It was virtually gravity defying as just around an hour earlier in to the match, he was on the back-foot staving off 3 match points in the fourth set. To surmount a comeback from that stage by turning it around and winning an epic 5 set thriller caps off one of the most miraculous achievements ever witnessed in sport.

It almost looked like a foregone conclusion as it seemed impossible for Carlos to spot any aperture with his opponent Sinner literally unrelenting not giving any room whatsoever. What Alcaraz did to make a way back will be etched in sporting memorabilia and remembered as a history defining sporting moment. It also reinforced the important life lesson of  "nothing is impossible" , "never give up" and "it's never over till it's actually over".

Going into the final, both the challengers had an unblemished record in Grand Slam finals with Alcaraz winning all his 4 slam final prior and Sinner emerging victorious in all the 3 slam finals that he had participated in. So, it was a given that one record was on the line with a final defeat inevitable for either one of them. Also it was after a long time that the World #1 was going head to head in a clash with the World #2 with stakes being extremely high. Sinner was the man in a rich vein of form going into the final having won all of his 6 encounters without dropping a single set along the way. This also included a convincing victory over the all time leader in the Grand Slam pack viz Novak Djokovic thus preventing Nole from adding a 25th Grand Slam to his tally. Though Alcaraz didn't feel like he was at his real best in this tournament, he did have a one-up over Sinner having just recently coming out on top in the Rome Masters final which was a clay court event played a week before the French Open. This one seemed like a battle between a missile machine in the form of Sinner against a mercurial maverick in the presence of Alcaraz who's known for doing mind blowing things on the tennis court when on song.

It was not just the victory which was super savoury sweet but also the crazy coincidences at play with the universe probably egging Carlos Alcaraz on to recreate history and making sure there was a bizarre alignment with his fellow Spaniard and local childhood hero Rafael Nadal. When Rafa had won his 5th Grand Slam in 2008, he was 22 years, one month and 3 days old. The cosmic energies played a upending trick by making Alcaraz play his 5th Grand Slam final weirdly at the exact age of 22 years, one month and 3 days old in 2025. This seemed pretty outrageous to even apprehend. For a better part of the match it did look like it was only a hoodwink and that the result wouldn't go according to plan what with Sinner dominating the initial part of the match and setting up 3 match points and on course to win a pretty comfortable final. But remarkably from out of the blue, Alcaraz rose like a phoenix from the Ashes and staged a turnaround which was much beyond the realms of a fairy tale to script a win out of the extraordinary to match the feat of winning his 5th Grand Slam final at the exact ditto day, age and month of Rafa Nadal. I am still gushing for words as to how the almighty could write such a script for 2 spectacular Spanish super stars born 17 years apart from one another (Nadal 3rd Jun 1986 and Alcaraz 5th May 2003) and 2 Grand Slam tennis tournament finals held 17 years cut off from each other. (Wimbledon 6th July 2008 and French Open 8th June 2025) [The exact difference between both being 16 years 11 months and 2 days]

Apart from the age being exactly akin, there were few more similarities brought forth to the table. Both Nadal and Alcaraz won their respective matches outlasting their opponents in 5 set thrillers. The icing on the cake is that when Nadal prevailed over Federer in the dim evening light of Wimbledon in 2008, it was considered to be one of the greatest matches ever to be played in the hallowed turf of grass. He also in the process prevented Federer from winning his 6th straight Wimbledon title. Likewise with Alcaraz winning Sinner in a slug fest of a 5 setter by coming from 2 sets down, this marks as one of the greatest matches ever to be played on the red clay of Paris in a final. Both these encounters would arguably compete against each other in being the finest Grand Slam final ever to be played in tennis history. Also at that time in 2008, when Nadal finally overcame Federer it was the longest ever Championship match lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. This was however overtaken in 2019 when Djokovic defeated Federer in the final lasting 4 hours and 57 minutes. Incidentally Djokovic also came back from match point down to win the final in another of Wimbledon's greatest finals. Alcaraz winning over Sinner incidentally happened to be the longest ever final in Roland Garros extending to 5 hours 29 minutes being even longer than the Nadal vs Federer clash in 2008. In both occasions it was the longest ever final at that particular moment in time. Another eerie similarity to take note is that in both the finals pertaining to 2008 and 2025, 2 of the sets were won by a scoreline of 6-4 and two of the sets were won in a tie break 7-6. However back in those days, the final set wasn't decided through a tie breaker and kept lingering on with Nadal prevailing 9-7 whereas in this case Alcaraz won the deciding 10 point tie breaker with scores level at 6-6 in the 5th set. To add to the murkiness, in 2008 Wimbledon Federer was seeded 1 and Nadal 2 with the latter becoming the victor and voila the same happened in 2025 French Open with Sinner being seeded 1 and Alcaraz 2 with the latter again coming out on top. To add to the spine chilling effect is the fact that both the opponents who lost were August month born and Leo Sun signs. (Federer 8th Aug 1981 and Sinner 16th Aug 2001)

One must be privileged to have even been witness to such breath taking borderline brilliance. It's a pity that one had to lose in this rivalry. Arguably this comeback by Alcaraz to win the French Open final of 2025 should rank in as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. It was simply sheer spellbinding and master craftsmanship at it's zenith. It's really hard to choose whether this would usurp the Nadal win over Federer in 2008 as both had it's moments etched in unrivalled artistry. Both the 2008 Wimbledon Final and the 2025 French Open Final would be celebrated for eternity and remembered for eons to come. The mysterious coincidences making a wizardly symmetry just adds that extra bit of sparkle deeming this tennis match final extremely special and truly mind boggling.

RCB's IPL 2025 triumph and the divine interplay of #9!

It was 18 years in waiting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they finally managed to win the coveted IPL title that had been eluding them for all these years. It was a testimony to the fans who have stood by the team through thick and thin despite the disappointments repeating time and again. It was also the moment of reckoning for King Kohli who has been the face of this franchise right from it's inception in 2008. 

18 years is a long period of time and he has been the one cricketer who has solely believed in this franchise and been steadfast in support of this team not being veered away despite all the tribulations that have come by. As ex RCB player Ross Taylor aptly put it "No one deserves it more than him for carrying on the hopes of millions of fans with unmatched dedication and belief". It was pretty emotional to see him running towards his better half Anushka Sharma soaking in the jubilation of victory. Also it must have been special to have 2 of his ex mates AB Devilliers and Chris Gayle in the house cheering him on to finally achieve this dream come true moment for RCB.

The streets of Bangalore have been lit with fireworks ablaze amidst the city congregating in unparalleled joy in celebrating this win for the ages. It is a city known for it's partying and rest assured that the fun will be lasting for a long time to come. It's a drought that has been ended and there is no second guessing on what this means to them. As a cricket crazy city who've lived on hope since time immemorial for this moment to happen, this is what they were all waiting for and you can expect Bangalore to be buzzing with an insanely electrifying atmosphere.

Hard work plays a major role and in RCB's case it has been evident the way they have played this year especially at venues away from home. There have been good performances put up by the team in previous seasons as well but the luck was always faltering upon them. It almost seemed destined that RCB were just not cut out to win. They have also been a side who have choked on the all important encounters giving their fans heartbreak time and again. Efforts apart, there is also some divine intervention required and this time it seemed imminent that God was willing to grant his blessings onto them.

In relation to this, it was hard not to notice a strange synchronisation with #9 in RCB's triumph which seemed to kind of indicate that destiny was with them. As per Numerology, No.9 which also includes numbers that add up to 9 such as 18,27 etc is represented by the planet 'Mars' and from an Astrology standpoint, the 9th is indicative of 'Bhagya' which means Luck, Destiny, Fortune. There were so many coincidences of 9's at play converging together kind of symbolically conveying that a higher realisation was with RCB this time in their quest towards their maiden IPL triumph.

It seemed even more evident when the dates of the whole tournament got changed more than midway through on account of unforeseen incidents which indirectly paved the way for everything to nicely fall in place perfectly for RCB. Signs play a role in pointing things out and it was vividly clear that #9 was coming to their aid and telling them that this was the year they were waiting for. Let's briefly look at the all the events inter-playing with the number 9 connection.

- Season 18 (1+8 = 9)
This was the 18th edition of IPL which saw it's script implanted in 2008. No.18 adds up to 9. In seasons prior, RCB had come close to winning on 3 occasions but each of the finals ended up in heartbreak.

- Playoffs Reached 9
Despite not winning the actual tournament, RCB have been fairly consistent in reaching the playoffs but without having the luck to go through further. This was their 9th attempt in the playoffs and the dividends finally yielded fruit

- Years since Last Final 9
The last time RCB had reached the final was 9 years back in 2016. They were also playing the final at their home stadium of Chinnaswamy but it ended in bitter disappointment with RCB missing out on crossing the finishing line by a whisker much to the chagrin of the partisan home crowd who were rooting no end. After 9 years they reached the final again and voila finally the dream was conquered.

- Date of Final 3rd June (Date 3 + Month 6 = 9)
This was another strong indication of RCB winning this time. The final as per the original roster was scheduled for 25th May but later got changed to 3rd June due to the impending border tensions and 3rd June when adding up the date and month is 9 which again proved to be lucky for RCB. Adding up of the date and month is also termed as "Achievement Number". In fact even a multiplication of the date and month would result in 18 which again adds up to 9. 

- Year of IPL 2025 (2+0+2+5 = 9)
Adding up of the digits of the year of IPL results in 9 which again brought fortune RCBs way.

- Date Month and Year of IPL (3rd June 2025 = 3+6+2+0+2+5 = 18 = 9)
This is known as the destiny or life path number where the date, month and year are all summed up to denote a number which is again 9 mysteriously signalling signs of positiveness for RCB.

- Jersey Number 18 (1+8 = 9)
RCBs talisman and legend of the game Virat Kohli sports a #18 jersey which is representative of RCB's number. Here also 18 adds up to 9 denoting a divine significance.

- Jersey Colour Red (Red = Mars = 9)
RCB adorns a jersey largely comprising of the colour 'Red'. Here again, the final was played on a Tuesday which is reflective of Red colour and ruled by the planet Mars which is again assigned Red and denotes No.9

- Day of Final Tuesday (Tuesday is ruled by Mars which is assigned No.9)
Conventionally not just IPL but across most sporting events, the final invariable always gets played out on a Weekend. As per the initial set up, the final was expected to be held on Sunday. But due to external circumstances, the schedules at the end got tweaked resulting in the Final being played on Tuesday. This day is said to be ruled by Mars and represented by #9 again bringing luck to RCB. All the 3 finals which RCB had contested earlier all took place on Sunday.

- Tithi Lunar Day of Final Navami (Representative of 9)
A Tithi Lunar Day occurs based on the angular distance that is created between the Sun & Moon as they revolve around the zodiac belt of 360°. Every 12 degrees of movement by the Moon away from the Sun gives rise to a Tithi and hence there are 30 Tithis (360°/12) in total with 15 being part of the brighter half or what is known as Shukla Paksha and the latter 15 being part of the darker half or Krishna Paksha. At the commencement of the final, it was the 8th Tithi in operation viz Ashtami. RCB didn't start off that well and it appeared like they didn't set a par for the course total. However miraculously things changed with the emergence of Navami Tithi from approximately 10PM with RCB seizing the initiative and exerting the breaks on the opposition eventually winning the match and the title.

Additionally to add to the list of significance is the Nakshatra (star of moon) that was in operation during the match which was 'Poorva Phalguni'. Though as per modern convention 'Ashwini' is said to be the first Nakshatra, but as per Classic Vedic Astrology (Atharva Veda), 'Krithika' is said to be the first Nakshatra which symbolises ignition of fire and 'Bharani' is the last Nakshatra on account of being ruled by Lord Yama who is the God of Death emblematic of a completion of life. If Krithika is indeed considered as the first Nakshatra, then Poorva Phalguni (Pooram in Tamil) would be the 9th Nakshatra again bringing into light the #9 significance. Also RCB's star player Virat Kohli was born in Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra. As per the sacred text 'Kumaraswamiyam', the 27th Nakshatra that adds up to 9 which in this case is "Poorva Phalguni" indicates "Abhishekham" or coronation that translates to good and auspicious things tending to take place and that's exactly what happened with him being blessed and conferred with an IPL title after years and years of toil and hard work.

In essence, it can be said that RCB deserved to win the IPL 2025 which is also reinstated and reaffirmed by all the divine patterns at play pointing to No.9 denoting auspiciousness. Finally that wish of "Ee Sala Cup Namadu" has transpired into reality.

Nostalgia Revisited - Transporting the time clock back to Y2K 2000!

I randomly stumbled upon the song "Pachchai Nirame" on my musical playlist and that ended up being the springboard to reminisce waves of memories from the bygone era relating to the year '2000'. It's unfathomable and flabbergasting to think that 25 years have passed since then. I just about bloomed into being a teenager and few of the moments from that year are vividly etched in the mind. Most of these are from the music, movie and sporting world.

I recall the Khans ruling the roost in Bollywood and in the very first month of January 2000 were 2 big releases lined up for Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan in the form of 'Mela' and 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'. The title song of the latter was already airing as a full music video in the musical channels and appeared to be instantly catchy. But however there was a movie sandwiched in between these two viz Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai starring debutante Hrithik Roshan which took the nation by storm. The movie had a dream run and just rampaged the releases of 'AK' and 'SRK'. Hrithik was the new heartthrob in town and was splashed over everywhere from news bulletins to magazines to paper cuttings to what not. I remember magazines like Filmfare, Stardust and Cineblitz all had cover stories of him in dashing avatars and he was touted to be the new supremo in the Bollywood Industry with the Khans being pushed to the backside. His fanfare was equated to Rajesh Khanna's stardom plenty of years ago.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was also a movie which I saw in the theatre for the maximum number of times and if my memory serves me right, I recall watching it 7 times with few of the shows viewed in the now erstwhile Melody theatre which used to solely host Bollywood movies. In Tamil tinsel town came the star studded Kamal Hassan directed 'Hey Ram'. The movie was promoted in a major way with SRK himself starring in a small guest role and appearing for all the screenings. The movie though highly critically acclaimed tanked at the Box office but the songs were cherished and especially the smooth piano run ins in the melody soaked 'Nee Partha Paarvai' remains a favourite to this day.

Around the period of 'Chithirai Maasam', roughly from mid April to mid May came 3 big Tamil movies in the form of 'Alai Payuthey', 'Kandukondein Kandukondein' and 'Khushi'. I recall lapping up the songs of all these 3 movies fervently. After a hardcore film in the form of Dil Se in 1998, Mani Ratnam went in for a saccharine sugary sweet love story in the form of 'Alai Payuthey' starring newcomer R Madhavan in the protagonist role. He was an instant hit with the masses and celebrated as the new chocolate boy in town. The movie redefined the boundaries of love and remains an evergreen tale of romance to this very day. Those dialogues featuring Karthik (Maddy) echoing his proposal to his lovey dovey Shakti (Shalini) amidst the background noise of the train is iconic even today. The entire album of Alai Payuthey was laced with spectacular compositions and we even decided to use one of the tracks 'Kadhal Sadugudu' for our light music event at school with the other being the dance number 'Ek Pal Ka Jeena' from Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

AR Rahman made another mammoth leap with the mind-blowing soundtrack of 'Kandukondein Kandukondein' which released just a fortnight later after Alai Payuthey. The audio launch was held in March and my parents were lucky to be given a pass to attend the event. Unfortunately I couldn't go because of running annual exams. It was an album which I adore even today and consider one of ARR's very best. This was Rajeev Menon's second release after 'Minsara Kanavu' which also had memorable songs. Seeing Aishwarya Rai in a green Kanchivaram saree dancing to 'Kannamoochi Ennada' made me to think that there was nobody more beautiful than her in the entire world. She was the sheer epitome of unparalleled beauty. That was the time I understood what the word 'Ethereal' meant. The summer holidays were spent at our home in Colombo, Sri Lanka and I recollect watching Khushi over there. The Vijay-Jyothika starrer stomped the box office with collections aplenty registering a second running back to back hit for director SJ Suryah who directed Vaali in 1999. The songs tuned by Deva were catchy and the stormy dialogues between Vijay & Jyothika set the pulse racing.

In June, Bollywood was gearing up for it's biggest release in the form of 'Refugee' starring Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan and Raj Kapoor's grand daughter Kareena Kapoor. Virtually every celebrity in Bollywood stood in line attending the preview show and showering the couple with blessings. The event was covered vigorously in the TV channels back then. The movie however received a lukewarm response at the box office. I however loved the compositions from the movie and feel that it was perhaps the best album ever produced by Anu Malik.

Also around this time, there was the SRK release 'Josh' where incidentally he played the hero's role but was the brother of the heroine 'Aishwarya Rai'. There is an anamnesis of a bunch of us from Class IX A in P.S Sr Sec School barraging into an auto and watching the movie at Melody theatre which was quite an unreal experience. Also after Hrithik Roshan's runaway hit Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, came his second release 'Fiza' where he incidentally like SRK in Josh played the brother's role to the heroine Karisma Kapoor. I recapture being the first to buy the musical cassette of Fiza at the now defunct 'TicTac' store in R A Puram. Those cassette days have a memory all by itself. Around the end of the year precisely during Diwali saw SRK and Hrithik going toe to toe with their respective third release of the year viz Mohabbatein and Mission Kashmir. I remember visiting Coimbatore that time with my parents. They had some work which I didn't need to go and decided to watch Mission Kashmir instead in the theatre which was placed just beside the hotel where we were staying. Incidentally it was the first movie that I watched all alone by myself. Have an evocative memory of a Kashmiri ethnic clad bubbly Preity Zinta going full throttle all out dancing and crooning to the song 'Bhumro Bhumro'.

On the Tamil front, there was one more brilliant album unleashed by AR Rahman in the form of Rhythm. It was based on the 5 elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Ether and the compositions were quite extraordinary. There is a faint memory of us discussing this album in detail especially during our walk to the school annual day programme in 'Narada Gana Sabha'. And talking about NGS, one cannot but not forget the iconic ice cream parlour located diagonally opposite called 'Freez Zone' where we used to get swirls of flavours in various colours for as piddly a sum of 25 bucks. 

And when it came to entertainment, I recall being a frequent goer to Fun World at Luz, Mylapore where we used to play all sorts of arcade games and if we were to win something, then we used to receive tickets for us to redeem through a gift. On the food side of things, it was around this time that I took a fondness towards "Chaat" and there was this insanely good erstwhile place at the side of  'Vitan Supermarket' by the name of Sridevi Chaats run by a mother & son Malayali duo. Almost everything over there used to be priced in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 25 and was lip smacking awesome.

Other than on the movie, music and general life front, in the cricketing world Indian cricket hit rock bottom with charges of match fixing being rampant. India had also given away it's proud home record by succumbing to South Africa accounting for their first ever test series defeat on Indian soil since 1985. Azharuddin played his 99th test and recorded a century but could never play a test after that due to the match fixing saga. He remains a rare instance of a batsman scoring a hundred in both his first test and last test match. The match fixing took a turn for the revamp with an all new Indian side being appointed captained by Saurav Ganguly. A new era dawned in Indian cricket. The results were instantly seen with India winning the home ODI series vs South Africa. The Indian team were however plagued with losing finals and they were unfortunate to come second best to the Kiwis in the Champions Trophy final despite being the best team on display. It was a horror run of 9 consecutive final losses till it was finally arrested with victory in the Natwest final on their 10th attempt in 2002. In football, the French dominance was in full force with them winning the Euro 2000 capping off on the World Cup victory of 1998. World of Tennis saw Pete Sampras conquering Wimbledon for the 7th time watched by his parents in the audience. The year was also witness to the Summer Olympics hosted by Sydney, Australia with the opening ceremony being decorated as one of the best to have ever been witnessed in recent memory.

In the political arena, things got really heated up towards the race for the US Presidential elections. It was the longest ever running battle with results going back and forth with both candidates Al Gore and George Bush Jr being called out as winners. At the end, a recount of Florida resulted in Bush winning over incumbent Democrat Al Gore to garner a victory for the Republicans. This drama was abuzz in all the news channels with confusions aplenty and wild counting swings causing mayhem. The elections which started counting on 7th November was eventually declared won on the 26th November. It was a field time for news channels with the world hooked on with the news of the impending next US president.

As I ruminate, these are few of the remembrances that I reminisce as a young boy growing up in Chennai with respect to the year 2000. When I look back, it looks like Y2K has been quite a historic year with regard to a number of events. However my photographic memory is stuck to a few topics of interest such as music, movies and sport. The redux on politics is just because of the chaos unfolding on TV with respect to the US election results. The year 2000 is not going to come back anymore and is a closed chapter in history but in hindsight it was quite a mind embracing journey to ride the time machine backwards and recapture moments from the bygone past of 25 years back to the year 2000. As I time travelled on this surreal saudade, the memories are so densely imprinted that they will pleasantly and personally stay on forever.

Number Idioms and its analogy with Cricket

As a young boy growing up, the sport of cricket used to fascinate and always keep me hooked. I was never great shakes when playing the game myself but used to always observe the commentary rather keenly and any reference to numbers always had me up and about excited. 'Numbers' or rather the extension of it which is the 'Statistics' angle associated with it always made me adore the sport a wee bit extra and I loved to prize out all the records broken and milestones conquered.

For this particular post, I would like to highlight a few number idioms/phrases and connote it from a cricketing analogy. The objective is not to use it only under the context of cricket but even in day to day interactions. Numbers are immensely fun and you can play around with it in so many different ways. Listing below are few non exhaustible phrases involving numbers forming a numerical sequence.

Zero:

- Zero in on - Focusing one's attention
The team needs to zero in on their bowling strategy if they need to progress to the next stage

- Zero Hour - Time at which at which an activity is scheduled to begin
Too much of chopping and changing towards the Zero Hour doesn't bode well for the team

One:

- One Too Many - Going overboard with respect to something
One Too Many attempts at trying to be cheeky has eventually put paid to his dismissal

- All in One Piece - Safety, unscathed, unharmed
This absolute scorcher of an innings from out of nowhere has helped save the blushes and ensured that the team is back in the hunt 'all in one piece'

- Back to Square One - Going back to the beginning
The team just refuses to learn. Time and again the same mistakes are being replicated and they keep going back to square one. 

- Have One over the Eight - Too much of something
The way he has been wildly swinging his bat in all directions from the time that he has walked in certainly indicates that he's had one over the eight last evening.

- One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Insane, Losing the mind, Senseless
This kind of mindless slogging with complete lack of application clearly suggests a situation of one flying over the cuckoo's nest 

Two:

- Give Two Hoots about - To not care about something or showing lack of concern
He doesn't give two hoots about the reputation of the bowler that he is facing. If he sees it, he's just going to go hit it.

- It takes two to Tango - Both parties being equally responsible
The new ball pair have complemented each other beautifully well. They say it takes two to tango and in this case it's been aptly visible and on full display.

- Kill Two Birds with One Stone - Achieving two goals with one action
This ploy has worked wonderfully well. They have suckered in the opposition to fall in to the trap thus killing two birds with one stone 

Three:

- Get the Third Degree - To be questioned in great detail
The bowling has been so probing with no room for error whatsoever that it feels like the batsman will get the third degree if he gets anywhere near to the delivery.

Four:

- On All Fours - Down on your hands and knees
He is literally on all fours after having attempted that immensely tough shot

Five:

- High Five - A gesture of celebration by slapping each others palms with arms raised
The performance has been all High Five with the execution being spot on and going perfectly according to plan.

Six:

- At Sixes and Sevens - A state of confusion and disorder
The team have been at sixes and sevens in trying to deal with the seaming new ball. They have been all at sea with no application whatsoever.

- Six of one, half a dozen of the other - Two situations with same or equal outcome
The two shots were utter replica of one other with the same result obtained. One was a six of one, and half a dozen of the other

Seven:

- Seventh Heaven - State of extreme happiness or joy
The team are literally on seventh heaven having won 7 matches on the bounce away from home

Eight:

- Behind the Eight Ball - Difficult or disadvantageous position
The team have been way behind the eight ball and look completely lost in handling alien conditions

Nine:

- On Cloud Nine - Extremely happy or over the moon
The team have been on cloud nine after winning 3 trophies on the trot

- Falling like Nine Pins - Collapsing
Its been a collapse of epic proportions, they have been literally getting rolled over falling like nine pins

Ten:

- Ten on Ten - Something that is very good, Excellent
It's been a perfect ten on ten with respect to the captaincy especially on the field placement and strategy

- Ten to One - Very Likely, High Probability of an event occurring or not occurring
Ten to One you can trust that it was the Captain who came up with this ingenious idea of bringing the fielder up close thus inducing the false shot from the batsman 

Eleven:

- At the eleventh hour - Last possible moment or just before its too late
Making fresh new plans at the eleventh hour doesn't bode well for the team

Twelve:

- Bakers Dozen - Thirteen, Adding an extra
This impact sub player has been so effective in performing the role far more than expected of him thus making the team feel like having an extra cushion or a Bakers Dozen.

Fifteen:

- Fifteen Minutes of Fame - Short period of attention and being in the spotlight
He started flaying every single delivery just for that fifteen minutes of fame but unfortunately it just turned futile

Nineteen:

- Nineteen to the Dozen - Talk incessantly without pausing
The Captain should be left alone to make the decision. Constant nineteen to the dozen advice from virtually everyone at the back end will bear no fruit.

Twenty Two:

- Catch 22 - Paradoxical situation where one condition prevents or overrules another condition
The team are in quite a Catch 22 situation at the moment. At one end, they need to keep the runs ticking on the board to get the score running but at the same time it's essential that they preserve their wickets and keep them handy at the back end of the innings.

Forty:

- Forty Winks - A short sleep, snooze, catnap
The match seems to be petering out into a moribund state. Perhaps this is the best phase of time for some of the players to catch forty winks before any state of activity resumes

Eighty Six:

- 86'd - Throw out, Removed or Dismissed
It's unfortunate that the player has been 86'd despite putting up a reasonably decent performance in the previous match

Using some of the number idioms above to spin a yarn with a cricketing equivalence:

England have been 'at sixes and sevens' trying to deal with spin and been getting rolled over like nine-pins. The batting has been absolutely deplorable with one too many needless hoicks putting paid to unnecessary dismissals. By not giving two hoots about the conditions have exposed them pretty badly. They have been way 'behind the eight ball' and look completely lost playing in the sub continent. Being completely under prepared and making changes at the eleventh hour isn't going to yield them any fruit. They are almost in a Catch 22 situation with any chance of a comeback virtually ruled out. It's just a matter of time before they are 86'd in this match and sent packing from the tournament. There also seems to be too much of interference playing along with the captain seeming to get nineteen to the dozen advice from everyone right from the players to the backroom staff. The Sockdolager has been landing stingily on their face too often now and they really need to do something to save face in order to avoid going back to Square One.

India on the other hand have been on Cloud 9 with plans executed perfectly and its been a High Five performance on all fronts. They have been a 10 on 10 with the new ball pair bowling a probing line and seizing the initiative upfront. The way the batsman have been clueless in picking length makes the bowlers feel like they are on seventh heaven. The spinners have wreaked havoc in equal measure with a Six of one and half a dozen of the other performance. England's ineptitude to handle the Indian bowling makes India look like a side blessed with a Baker's dozen. It takes two to tango and it can be said that both the pace bowlers and spinners have equally in tandem been the star performers in executing this demolition job perfectly. The only area which they need to zero in on is the lower order batting and if that also gets sorted out they will have an all encompassing team to compete at any level. 

CSK's IPL 2025 - A disaster that was waiting to unfold

Chennai Super Kings prior two seasons before 2025 fetched reasonably positive results and coming into IPL 2025, there was plenty expected of the men representative of a lion sized past and seeped in yellow to add another coveted title #6 to their lustrous trophy laden cabinet. 2023 witnessed CSK conquer title No.5 in a thrilling final for the ages with a sixer and a boundary scored off the last 2 deliveries to edge out defending champions GT and seal CSK an improbable win and cement their legacy as one of the greatest teams of the IPL which set foot since the summer of 2008. 2024 however didn't go all to plan but again it wasn't a horror show by any stretch of the imagination. They just lost out by a whisker in making it to the playoffs. With 11 needed off 5 deliveries to qualify against RCB, some caution exercised could have actually seen CSK crossing the line and you never know what could have happened in the playoffs. 

2025 was the IPL season consisting of the mega auctions. CSK have always been a tried and tested formula based team pursuing on with the seasonal veterans and not to take credit away, this approach has actually worked well over a period of time. Irrespective of the outcome of this season, they have been the most consistent IPL side in reaching the playoffs and have played for the big final prize on 9 occasions out of 16 events participated. (They didn't compete for 2 seasons between 2016-17 on account of being banned).

The T20 format however has evolved and it's seen as a young man's game with huge big hitting potential igniting euphoria and getting the crowd on to it's feet. The IPL as a brand has been all rizz and razzmatazz growing multi-fold in becoming a supreme cash cow generating gargantuan wealth and seen as one of the perennial events of the sporting calendar worldwide. The 2025 auction set the tone for an overhaul and it was the perfect opportunity for a team like CSK to seek some fresh blood and set the foundation towards planning for the future especially with their talisman MS Dhoni on the verge of retirement. This also proved a ripe opportunity to develop a solid grounding for building a renewed young side who would be ready to take on the mantle when the time eventually comes about. 

Coming into the auction of 2025, CSK was handed a purse of 120 crores and ended up retaining Jadeja (18 crores), Gaikwad (18 crores), Pathirana (13 crores), Dube (12 crores) and Dhoni (4 crores as part of uncapped player) with all of them accounting for a combined sum total of 55 crores. This still left them remaining with 65 crores to pick a cream of players from a multitude pool of both local and overseas talents.

CSK botched it up on 3 key parameters - Strategy, Combination and Performance. First up was the questionable decision to retain the 2 senior pro's Dhoni and Jadeja. The former was acceptable though debatable because he was the fulcrum who constructed the base of CSK and also considering the fan following the man commands, it would have been an outcry to see him represent any other side than his beloved CSK. Also at a prize of 4 crores, it's not like a huge step off the peddle anyways. However coming to Jadeja, surely there should have been more reasoning and thought process. Jadeja is an excellent utility cricketer but well past his prime and also a retired International T20 cricketer at the time of reckoning of the auctions. To give a slice of 15% of the purse to a retired cricketer absolutely made no sense. Even if they were hell bent on retaining him, they could have easily got him in the auction for around half the prize. This was an erroneous error on all counts. Retention of Ruturaj was a given considering he was the sole contender to fill in MS shoes and already made captain at the helm. Pathirana was a far cry of the performer that he was in 2023 with a rather hapless 2024 IPL season and with all due respect to Dube, though he can tonk the ball a country mile, he always has been someone who takes time to settle in and isn't the one who can just go all guns blazing. The other retention's can be contentious but Jadeja's especially at that prize was no doubt a blunder of epic proportions.

Coming to the actual auctions, CSK was caught napping with respect to the combinations. With them already retaining Jadeja, there was a heavy bid to bring on Ashwin to partner in crime and reunite the spin twins. The prize which they went for almost breaking the 10 crore barrier was again dubious but can still said to be justifiable. If they were anyways zeroing in on Ashwin, there was absolutely no need to also go in for Noor Ahmed. The latter agreed has been the better of most of CSK's performers this season but to spend almost 40 crores which is a third of the purse value of 120 crores on just 3 players with the same speciality of spin bowling made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was a given that they were all expected to be part of the playing team considering the prize commanded but the decision holistically just felt ludicrous and out of sync. Since Jadeja was anyways there, it should have been clearly either a homecoming for Ash or Noor and certainly and undoubtedly not both. This was as illogical as it could get.

On the fast bowling side, the management hardly went anywhere close to bagging any marquee name. Someone like a Hazlewood or Starc could have bought in a marked difference. Even a localite like Siraj/Avesh/Akashdeep could have helped in a major way. The worst was however reserved on the batting front which is the genre that arguably defines a T20 game to it's zenith. CSK went in for old foes well past their 30s by picking the likes of Tripathi, Hooda and Vijay Shankar. This was as outlandish as it could get. The combination of the side appeared forlorn and all at sea. Power hitting which is a forte of IPL cricket somehow seemed to have been blanked out and blindfolded the management. Even on the All rounders set, they went in for a Sam Curran, someone not renowned to be a power striker and another well past 30 candidate in the form of Jamie Overton. One should seriously wonder what CSK were cooking at the auction as it was literally a nightmare unravelling of all sorts. It must be said, they just went absolute bonkers with their picks at the auction.

And now coming to the performance on the field, there was nothing much to write home about. Though they began well winning their first game at home against MI, it all went downhill from there on. The fortress of CSK which teams had been battling for years to breach managed to chop it down without even blinking an eyelid. All those proud home records were eviscerated and obliterated much to the chagrin of hardcore CSK fans. Ruturaj's captaincy in the initial games felt a lot left to be desired with tactics simply not in place and his usage of bowlers was bewildering to say the least. As CSK's outright best batsman, his ruling out of the tournament led the batting performance to crumble even further. It was a sad sight to witness a once champion side struggling to chase anything around 180 with absolute zilch batting firepower. For most other teams, it felt like a victory against CSK was a foregone conclusion and just a means of boosting up the net run rate a further notch. The performance on the field was just a reflection of the poor strategy set and the lacklustre combination laid out which just didn't inspire indication of any confidence. 

Even in the match to determine the wooden spoon, CSK were undone with some bizarre ideas at play by perking Ashwin & Jadeja up the order and preserving the so called big hitters at the posterior. Also, lesser said the better on the inability to pick up runs at the fag end of the innings. However, CSK put up their most commanding performance in the last match of the season by registering a comprehensive victory over one of the table toppers GT. This meant that they ended up winning both their first and last matches of the season but it was all mostly downhill in between. This also in eventuality, meant that a much fancied and ever loved cherished team like CSK finish a shocking bottom most in the standings. The 2025 IPL in effect was a damp squib and a season which every loyal CSK supporter would want to forget very soon. It was in essence a dream that dissipated even before inception.

On the youngsters side, CSK unleashed an imperious up and coming talent on the horizon in the form of Ayush Mhatre who was brought in to the fray when CSK were almost done and dusted in the season. On the international front, a major discovery was the dashing South African youngster Dewald Brevis. But even he was being made to cool his heels and brought in only when CSK were virtually eliminated from the tournament. Even someone like an Urvil Patel came in at the very last moment and played a rapturous innings from out of nowhere. There were a few others who didn't even manage to bag a game. It begs the question as to why some of these youngsters were kept in oblivion until the very end till it became too late to make any sort of comeback.

The underlying problem can accentuate and compound further as well. CSK had a great chance to make amends by playing well at the auctions but everything lies at the core and if that's brittle, things are bound to eventually fall apart. By laying down a cistern of players well past their prime and hardly exposing the young crop of players by giving them the requisite opportunities, CSK will have to play their cards very closely and cannot afford to have a single negative streak while planning for the 2026 season. CSK did bounce back remarkably well after a rather poor 2022 season to win the title the following year. In 2018, after being away from the wilderness for 2 years they came stomping back to win the trophy. CSK is known for making strong comebacks and the past is a firm indicator of that. Thus hope is still there but tough decisions have to be taken and the fans must stop hero worshipping individual players and back the team as a wholesome unit to the hilt. It may take even a year or two to rebuild but the faith and unity must remain in order to see the CSK franchise restore and re-conquer hallowed glory in the IPL seasons that follow.

Cosmic Connections surrounding India's Champions Trophy 2025 victory

India's victory over New Zealand in the final of the Champions Trophy 2025 final has given the nation much to rejoice and cherish. It was a fantastic win and India's brand of white ball cricket has certainly been top notch and of the highest order. Their fantastic streak in the white ball game just keeps extending from strength to strength. They have now won 2 major championships within a span of 9 months, first with the marvellous victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 in June 2024 which came after a period of 11 years without a global trophy followed by this scintillating win in the Champions Trophy 2025 in March 2025. The only blemish was the unfortunate defeat at the hands of Australia in the home ODI World Cup of 2023. Taking all these events in unison, India has lost just one match across these 3 editions comprising of ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

India also becomes the first side to win the Champions Trophy 3 times. They also attained a unique record by winning all their matches in this edition despite losing the toss every single time which is indeed quite a rare feat. The Indian men's team now has a tally of 7 global ICC cricket tournament victories with 3 CTs, 2 ODI WCs and 2 T20 WCs to boot. Rohit Sharma has now successfully led India to 2 major titles only being behind MS Dhoni who won India 3 titles by claiming a T20 WC, ODI WC and a CT. The other captains to have led India to world titles include Kapil Dev who won India's inaugural ODI World Cup 1983 and Saurav Ganguly who helped India win the Champions Trophy in a shared encounter with Sri Lanka in 2002.

This Champions Trophy victory however didn't come in to be so easy. There were lot of hoodoo's and strange incidents playing against India while taking the field for the final. India's final record in global events especially when held on a Sunday hasn't been a rosy picture with many painful defeats coming on this day. Normally across history, finals of any global sporting event gets played on a weekend to attract maximum crowd base and viewership. In the initial days when the ODI World Cup started, most of the finals were played on a Saturday but however off late majority of the final clashes invariably tend to take place on a Sunday. Let's briefly look at India's record in all the major finals played across limited overs internationals spanning the ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup.

1) Saturday - 25th June 1983 - ODI WC - India won by 38 runs against West Indies
2) Sunday - 15th Oct 2000 - CT - India lost by 4 wickets against New Zealand
3) Monday - 30th Sep 2002 - CT - India won but shared the trophy with Sri Lanka due to wash out
4) Sunday - 23rd Mar 2003 - ODI WC - India lost by 134 runs against Australia
5) Monday - 24th Sep 2007 - T20 WC - India won by 5 runs against Pakistan
6) Saturday - 2nd Apr 2011 - ODI WC - India won by 6 wickets against Sri Lanka
7) Sunday - 23rd Jun 2013 - CT - India won by 5 runs against England
8) Sunday - 6th Apr 2014 - T20 WC - India lost by 6 wickets against Sri Lanka
9) Sunday - 18th Jun 2017 - CT - India lost by 180 runs against Pakistan
10) Sunday - 19th Nov 2023 - ODI WC - India lost by 6 wickets against Australia
11) Saturday - 29th Jun 2024 - T20 WC - India won by 7 runs against South Africa
12) Sunday - 9th Mar 2025 - CT - India won by 4 wickets against New Zealand

Thus looking at the list above, India have won all 3 events when it took place on a Saturday. They also won 2 trophies when it was played on a Monday. The CT 2002 was scheduled initially on a Sunday but the match got rained off and moved to Monday which again resulted in the match being washed off by rain enabling India to share the trophy with tournament hosts Sri Lanka. The reason why the inaugural T20 WC 2007 final was held on Monday was because it was a public holiday on account of 'Heritage day' in South Africa deeming the final to be played on a Monday. Any day other than a weekend hosting a final is something one will not see often and is indeed quite a rare occasion. When it came to Sundays, out of 7 Sundays in which India has participated in finals, they have lost 5 and going in to the match against New Zealand they were 1-5 on the descendancy during finals held on Sunday. Some of the most damning defeats also have come on Sunday including a defeat almost a quarter century ago to New Zealand in this very own Champions Trophy in 2000. Also both India's final defeats in ODI WC came against Australia and behold both being Sundays. The last Champions Trophy final in 2017 also saw India getting a pasting by Pakistan by being served a royal thrashing. The only Sunday win which India enjoyed was on a rain affected final match on a late London evening in CT 2013 when the original 50 over match got rescheduled to 20 overs where India just about managed to pip England despite being on the back foot for most of the match. Thus Sundays in general haven't been to India's calling when it comes to major tournament finals.

When it comes to numbers, this happened to be the third straight global cricketing event which happened to be played on a date involving 9 in some way. 19th Nov 2023 was the final date of ODI WC 2023 with 29th June 2024 being the final date of T20 WC 2024 and the current Champions Trophy final was held on 9th March 2025. India had lost the ODI WC final in 2023 played on a Sunday whereas they won the T20 WC final played on a Saturday. Coming to the CT final of 2025, it was again played on a Sunday somewhat being stacked against India. In numerology, the normal tendency is to add up the digits to make it all within the ambit of 9 numbers. The previous CT final was held on 18th June 2017 where the date equated is 9 (1+8) and India got a hammering. This particular CT final was also on 9th March 2025 equating to 9 thus giving the jitters a wee bit. 

Coming to months, June has been pretty favourable for India with them winning an ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy and a T20 World Cup in this particular period. They however lost the CT final of 2017 in June. September is a month where India won both their finals viz the CT 2002 (shared) and T20 WC 2007. 2 titles have come in March (CT 2025) & April (ODI WC 2011) though both these months have also witnessed the team losing a final viz ODI WC 2003 in March & T20 WC 2014 in April. India have however only lost finals when played in October and November. Hence it's 3/4 in June, 2/2 in September, 1/2 in March, 1/2 in April, 0/1 in October and 0/1 in November. With respect to the dates within the months, India has been super successful in the 3rd part of the month ranging from dates 21st to 30th with 5 of their titles coming in dates of 23 (23rd Jun 2013 CT), 24 (24th Sep 2007 T20 WC), 25 (25th Jun 1983 ODI WC), 29 (29th Jun 2024 T20 WC) and 30 (30th Sep 2002 CT). The only one blemish was another 23 with India losing the ODI WC final on 23rd March 2003. In the first 10 days of the month, the success has been reasonable with India winning 2 titles (2nd Apr 2011 ODI WC and 9th Mar 2025 CT) but also losing 1 final (6th Apr 2014 T20 WC). The days between 11th to 20th has been outright worst for India as they have lost all 3 finals played during this time (15th Oct 2000 CT, 18th Jun 2017 CT and 19th Nov 2023 ODI WC). In terms of numerology dates, #2 has been very good for India with 2 of the most memorable triumphs coming on these dates (2nd Apr 2011 ODI WC and 29th Jun 2024 T20 WC). The other 5 titles have come on #3,5,6,7,9. In terms of losses, 2 of them have come on #6 date (15th Oct 2000 CT and 6th Apr 2014 T20 WC) while others have been spread across dates of #1,5,9. 

Another cosmic connection at play happens to be the colour of the jersey. Ever since coloured clothing became a thing with Limited Overs Internationals beginning from the 1992 ODI World Cup onwards, India have largely sported a predominant colour of "Blue". Each of the planets ruling a day are generally associated with a colour and it might be strange but history has witnessed that specific colours worn on select days have had quite a say. Listing below the days which are ruled by the planets and the  associated colour

Sunday - Sun - Orange (Also can be copper color which is orangish red or reddish brown)
Monday - Moon - White (Generally said to be Milky White)
Tuesday - Mars - Red (Associated with Blood Red colour)
Wednesday - Mercury - Green (Shades of Green both light and dark)
Thursday - Jupiter - Yellow (Any type of Yellow or even Gold colour)
Friday - Venus - White/Blue (More of Curdish White and lighter shade of Blue)
Saturday - Saturn - Black (Pitch dark black or a semblance of a dark blue colour)

Generally, you would see that Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday ruled by Sun, Mars and Jupiter get along well with one another. Australia have been very successful in cricketing finals held on Sunday with the Yellow colour proving to be very prominent. Even the West Indies who normally wear shades of Red/Maroon have seemingly been reasonably successful in finals when held on Sunday. The colours of Wednesday, Friday and Saturday ruled by Mercury, Venus & Saturn are said to be more in sync with each other. Monday ruled by Moon tends to be quite neutral and gets along with both pairs in equal elan. There is a saying that Moon has no enemies. In the second set, Venus ruling Friday & Saturn ruling Saturday are said to be hardcore enemies with Sun who rules the day of Sunday but however this exception does not hold true for Mercury which rules Wednesday. Hence Green colour is equally prominent for both Saturdays and Sundays with the former perhaps being a touch more favourable. In fact South Africa who have won 4 Rugby World Cups have won all their 4 finals when played on a Saturday. They however lost the T20 WC final played against India on a Saturday. 

For India who sports significantly the blue colour, Saturdays have been very successful with them winning all their 3 big ticket final encounters. Even the odd Monday has proved lucky. However Sunday ruled by Sun hasn't really been to India's favour with Venus & Sun seeing bitter enmity. The one thing which worked excessively to India's favour in the CT final of 2025 is that their opponent New Zealand were donning black attire which again is very unfavourable on a Sunday with the enmity of Saturn & Sun being equally or more worse than between Venus & Sun. It would be very interesting to note that when the Kiwis toppled India in the CT final on a Sunday 25 years back in 2000, they were not wearing cardinal black and in fact had streaks of Green & Grey which tilted the tide in their favour. It must also be said that New Zealand's record has been pathetic on all the finals when they have gone with full black. They lost the 2015 ODI WC to Australia badly, had a massive heartbreak by losing to England in the ODI WC of 2019 on boundary count. This continued in the 2021 T20 WC as well when they lost the final to Australia in the UAE. Ironically, the Kiwis only major white ball cricketing triumph came when they were not in full black in CT 2000. The All Blacks are a successful Rugby side and all their 3 victories so far came when they played the final on a Saturday. Their 2 defeats in finals came to South Africa who wear green which was also on a Saturday. Generally it is seen that when a team wears a colour which rules that day plays against a team where the colour also happens to be favourable, the former tends to lose because of the colour being overbearing and working against it.

In this particular final of CT 2025, one advantage which India had was that New Zealand too wore a colour of Black which is completely inimical on the day of Sunday which played to India's advantage unlike the 2000 Champions Trophy final. It is been advised that Black colour especially has an extremely negative effect on Sunday. India obviously had the mastery of their squad working tricks on the Kiwis but no denying that this jersey colour effect also played against them. One other interesting coincidence to note is that in the T20 WC final 2024, the top scorer and Man of the Match was Virat Kohli for scoring 76 and voila the same thing repeated in the CT Final 2025 where the top scorer and player of the match was Rohit Sharma who also garnered the same score of 76 with the bat. 

Thus when you look at the overall scheme of things, these tend to be interesting takeaways. Whatever said and done, the skill sets, temperament and will to win is what reigns supreme and these things tend to take a backseat when the former tends to be paramount. However there is no refuting the fact that in sport, luck also does have an element and these superstitions and cosmic energies have proved to be of consequence at least as per the patterns at play and what history has suggested in the past.