FROM CHOKERS TO CHAMPIONS

Cricket, the great leveler, oft a game of fate and fire,

Once England’s summer sport, now  nations aspire,

“Test” the real test where class is indeed crowned,

Names shine on scoreboards, grit goes underground.

 

Shorter forms arrived, children of the mother game,

Fanfare rides high, filling coffers with sky high fame,

Nail bite thrillers and the crowd’s restless cheer,

Yet Test cricket is the soul, like bread and butter.

 

India, once the struggler, now a true giant reborn,

From timid starts to titles, through battles won.

Prudential world cup, saw  sparks in the nations eye,

Now they are world beaters, beneath a rising sky

 

South Africa, the Rainbow nation mirrors the path,

A cauldron of talent, yet fate withheld the wreath,

“Chokers” their nickname, a name oft worn in pain,

Every fall in the finals, etched deep like a stain.

 

Race and politics blurred the game they cherished,

Selections stained by color, dreams often ignored,

But rose a captain, slight in frame, yet silently bold,

Finals, wherein  his bat talked, his critics silenced.

 

Against the mighty Aussies, he stood with pride,

Injury, sledging, underdog stigma, all cast aside,

No roar, no boast, just resilience, silence and steel,

He showed in company, the touch of heal and feel

 

The dawn has broken today, let the celebration begin,

Critics hushed, were silenced, as they won an epic win,

He conquered his wounds, both spoken and unseen,

Many more such victories will wash the slate clean.

 

Let choker tag be buried, a relic of the scar of the past

From chokers to champions, have risen from nowhere,

Golden message, for the cricketing world all over instead,

No match is lost or won until the last ball is delivered

 

What a tale they behold, of nerves held together and firm,

Once strong when single, fragile when united as a team,

Their willow once brittle, now strikes with all its might,

Carved their glory in the Mecca of cricket in sacred light.