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February 9, 2011Posted on 02/09/2011 in Indian cricket
The summer of '96
From Neeraj Narayanan, India
The 90s were something else
© Associated PressI do not know why I don’t like the IPL. Maybe it is the sheer obscene display of money, maybe it is the cheerleaders. Maybe I like to believe that even in 2011, cricket does not come under the purview of entertainment, instead it still should be treated like a gentleman’s game. Just like how I feel sad seeing empty parks and blame it on Facebook. Maybe I am just not ready to accept change.
And so, when Set Max’s live telecast of the player auction began, I switched off the box and sat down beside my bookshelf, cross-legged and, might I add, adorable. At the end of my endeavours, a rather disheveled scrap book found its way into my callused palms. A shoddily cut picture of Tendulkar, with a few yellow dal stains on his cheek formed the cover of the dog eared book titled, ‘Nero - the summer of ‘96’.
Nineteen-ninety six was indeed a memorable year. It was the year I evolved into a teenager, and the year I first fell in love. Seated two rows across, I would look at her and wonder if even the Taj Mahal could be so pretty, and if it was necessary that we hug or kiss (blech!) when we got married. It was also the year my voice broke and I croaked like a frog and why we never eventually got married. It was the year when Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid first played for India.
The 90s was the decade when cable television tiptoed stealthily into Indian households. The sudden plethora of channels amazed us, and we were shocked to know that news channels were allowed to hire pretty women, a fact that Doordarshan, our national channel, always hid from us. When electricity failed on us, which it did with clockwork regularity, we would run to the neighbourhood paan shop. You see we did not have Cricinfo then. Once there, we would stand hunched along with fifteen others, with perky ears, submerging as one big family into agony or ecstasy with the lows and the highs of the team’s fortunes.
Back then, none of the Indian players had fancy hair styles. All of Azhar’s ‘boys’ as he repeatedly called them at every match conference, were absolute mama’s boys – be it Sachin, Rahul, Kumble or Srinath. It almost seemed like flamboyance was not allowed to be part of that Indian team character. There was no dude at all in the team, no Kohli, no Yuvraj. No one sledged, no one stared, it appeared as if they were standing in a temple, instead of a ground. Even Sourav was a quiet little fellow till he became captain in 2000. Unlike 2010, when we have been tagged No.1 in Test cricket, we were archaic in those days, even medieval, in our play. Our batting rose and fell with Sachin, our fast bowlers ticked rasam and sambar as their favourite daily diet, and our best fielder was a 35-year old man called Robin Singh. It was inexplicable - the team totally refused to dive on the ground, and Anil and Sri became models for a Moov ad every time they had to bend their knees to stop a ball. I would scream at them and call them ‘women’ and my sister would glare at me malevolently.
In that entire decade, we never won a Test outside the subcontinent. But isn’t that why we became obsessed with the team. There is a feeling that comes with being part of an underdog, that impassioned aggressive desire to punch and knock out a better opponent, that one can never understand being part of a champion side. It is heady, it is intoxicating. Ask Hayden or Gilchrist if they feel as bad about a loss as a young Bangladesh side would feel about a win. Watch how players react when they beat Roger Federer and you will have an idea. It is only because David beat Goliath, did the story become romantic. And it was the same with India. With our team, we felt crushed a million times, and ecstatic a few other times, but with that grew our loyalty and misplaced patriotism. It was also why we made Sachin into a demi-god.
But now, everything has changed. Twenty20, IPL , businessmen, cheerleaders, Mandira Bedis have now become an integral part of modern day cricket lexicon. The Indian team is at its best. Today, Afghanistan have done all but enter the cricket fold, Zimbabwe are all but extinct. England are thrashing Australia in the Ashes, in ways they were themselves slapped around for over a century. There is no Wasim and no Waqar, thank heavens for Steyn. Everything has changed, except maybe Sachin Tendulkar. As always, he remains our hero across all ages, across all time, across all hairstyles. Our one constant.
P.S - That scrap book, it had its first page dedicated to a code of conduct. As captain, my first rule did not allow any members of the Sector 55 Noida team to use any expletives while playing. I guess, once upon a time, I was a relatively better person. As I flipped through the pages, an assorted mix of match scores and statistics appeared scribbled in pencil, that most innocent of communication facilitators. My laptop lay across the room, proud and superior.
Posted by: Dr.Limple at February 9, 2011 10:46 AM
Still trying to figure out if there was actually a purpose behind this piece of rambling.
Posted by: Anshuman Bhatt at February 9, 2011 11:50 AM
Mr.Neeraj,
It is true that all of us feel nostalgic as years pass by and we treasure the memories of our first youth. I was also a teenager during the nineties . We have a tendency to look at those years with sepia tainted glasses. Quite frankly speaking I don't see what was memorable in those images you have recalled. There was nothing meritorious about the Indian Team and its performances in those days. We only ended up craving for some victories. Every other team bashed us up including Zimbabwe. There were so many occasions when India lost from a winning position. On most occasions we were losing any way quite hopelessly. You only have to look at the team's record during those years.We only prayed that our guys showed a bit of an aggression and not play like schoolboys. The captain himself had been appointed because of his soft pussycat nature due to the notorious machinations of a deceased Chairman of selectors. Sorry I feel the 2000s were slightly more memorable .
Posted by: Souvik at February 9, 2011 12:23 PM
It was an excellent article....Last 5 years cricket has been changed in India and the old romanticism has lost its place.
Posted by: kannan venugopal at February 9, 2011 12:48 PM
Hi Neeraj,
Evocative, well written, nostalgia inducing piece. I have a few yrs on you, and remember the 90s so vividly. How Ten carried the rest of the team, how Kumble toiled manfully, how Gangs and Rahul grew into men from being boys..
I remember the way Tendulkar dancing down the wicket in Edgbaston96 and hitting Min Patel for 6 to get to his hundred.. It was a message being sent. We will not lie down!. When my younger cousins tease me about my adulation and adoration for the little master, they do not realise that it was he, who sowed the seeds of self belief, determination and the "can do, will do" attitude in the Indian psyche.
whats wrong with me..? i am getting a lump in my throat as i write this.
Go, India !! win it for us, win it for our beloved Ten !!
Posted by: AndyZaltzmannsHair at February 9, 2011 1:00 PM
In one generations time the IPL will either be drastically different to what it is today, pretty much a whole new game. Or it will be dead by its own hands. Mark my words.
Posted by: absar at February 9, 2011 1:01 PM
excellent article.. being about the same age as you are.. i can totally relate to this article... and even I hate the IPL... long live sachin...
Posted by: Ahsan at February 9, 2011 2:23 PM
Very well written. '96 Cup was the time when I started following cricket and felt heart-break immediately; Ind v Pak QF.
Posted by: Syed at February 9, 2011 2:46 PM
Hi Neeeraj,
Amazing article! I might add that there are many Indians who feel the same way and have similar memories which we sit back and cherish. I don't think there will be another 90's, but who knows. The same thing was said when Viv Richards departed and we got Brian Lara, and when Gavaskar departed, Sachin took the charge. But one thing remained constant until the 2000's, the passion and spirit of the game was intact. However, with the advent of IPL, money has become the driving source behind this once known gentleman sport.
Posted by: PLI at February 9, 2011 3:16 PM
Brilliant.
Posted by: SANDEEP AGARWAL at February 9, 2011 3:21 PM
goood beginning..baaad ending....
Posted by: Saikrishnan at February 9, 2011 3:43 PM
Excellent article Neeraj. Although I was born in 1991, I could relate to everything you said about living in the 90s. Brings back wonderful memories.
Posted by: Ammit at February 9, 2011 3:47 PM
Gosh! You have a strong opinion about IPL.
Its glam show which is superficially orchestrated but at the end of the day you still see bat hitting the ball or ball hitting stumps.
IPL is the new change and a lot of us are acting as vintage skeletons about them. This is what would have happened when people started 50 over's match.IPL and 20-20 are here to stay. Surprisingly. I met a lot of people in US [ABCDs] and they seem to like this form of game as they say "Its not sinfully long and you see action right away". this is what makes Soccer super famous as its pretty alive and short. you don't need to keep your head around for a day or days to find out whats happening. and with more teams more players are getting opportunities.
"Azhar's boys":) well Srinath used to shout and abuse a lot, if you do a lip read then you will know all the magical words though someone from our team used to be on the receiving end :).
"Sachin is constant"- so true. His name has become an adjective.
Posted by: shyam at February 9, 2011 3:55 PM
hey neeraj thanks again for another shiver trigering info,what sachin denied to the world is also a hairdo.. u end ur stuffs really well... good job again buddy.
Posted by: Debayan at February 9, 2011 4:24 PM
Brilliantly written...completely identify with your views!
Posted by: Anonymous at February 9, 2011 4:40 PM
you made me nostalgic, god bless the 90s
Posted by: Aman at February 9, 2011 5:33 PM
Nice article. Being another one who grew in 90s following cricket religiously i can instantly connect with author. Truely those were times when the whole country's heartbeat will stop when Sachin would play a false shot and the rest of the team would be sort of doing a favor to pull a match off with sachin out cheaply.
Can't forget world cup 96 how Indian team was one man show and the heart break of Eden Gardens will forever be a pain in Indian Cricket Fan's heart.
Posted by: Shalom at February 9, 2011 5:59 PM
Thanks Neeraj, reminded me of the time I was in ninth grade and saw the 96 WC, Sourav and Rahul in England and watching the Sahara Cup till 3 a.m. on ESPN. Memories have come alive. I know how you feel about IPL. I already feel old. LOL
Posted by: Vishal at February 9, 2011 8:43 PM
Nice writing! Brought back a lot of those old memories of 90's ... college days, bunking lectures, girls, and, of course, CRICKET all around!!! Even though India is now officially the best team in the world and much stronger than what we had in the 90's, watching an old 90's game with Azhar, Sidhu, Srinath, Kumble, and a kiddy-looking Sachin is much more fun! :)
Posted by: kiwirocker at February 9, 2011 11:38 PM
i was upto something inportant...i just wanted to get a feel..but after the opening lines i coudnt resist reading .....nice piece of work...indian team rocks....
Posted by: Niraj Bidkar at February 10, 2011 3:49 AM
I always love your articles Neeraj! They are funnily summarized emotions of a common man for this wonderful game of cricket and its players! The 90's was indeed an exciting, if not a very glorious time, in many ways for Indian cricket. There were some some amazing cricketers like Azhar, Siddhu, Robin Singh, Jadeja, Prasad, Srinath, Kumble, Mongia and many others, who enthralled us. Of course, as you mentioned, Sachin still remains a key player of the Indian squad even in 2011. We also saw some young talent develop in the form of Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, etc. I really miss those days. Everyone had an eye of how much Sachin scored. Everyone loved him during those days. In the middle of this past decade, sadly he developed a lot of critics as well, who always tried to find ways to diminish his reputation. Anyways, but back to our original topic...I wish the 90's come back. Again, great article!
Posted by: Abhishek Chandan at February 10, 2011 5:30 AM
Tremendous article. It is all absolutely so true and so beautifully articulated ! Kudos !
Posted by: deecee at February 10, 2011 6:21 AM
Didn't any of the stars mention 'upma' for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Posted by: Yasir Hasan at February 10, 2011 6:58 AM
Nice article, really took me back to the time when I was in my teens. Circumstances of both Pakistan and India were quite similar, though Pakistan had an edge on cricketing field in that era.
The title of the article is a bit misleading, as I was under the impression it would be about 1996 World Cup. The article is covering the general trend of 90s, so the title would be something to that effect.
Regards,
YH
Posted by: AK at February 10, 2011 7:34 AM
True, we indeed were better persons in those days.
Posted by: Slashinv at February 10, 2011 8:13 AM
Beautifully written ! Summer of 96 !
Posted by: Kesari.N at February 10, 2011 10:05 AM
Hey Neeraj this is a fantastic write up.. It felt pretty nostalgic as the late 90's hold special memories of mine.. It made me remember those good old days when there used to be a festival atmosphere on days of cricket matches involving India.. Moreover thanx a lot for reminding my childhood and the cricketers of those days.. Cheers mate..!!!
Posted by: sarath chandra at February 10, 2011 10:32 AM
yup. wonderful article. I started watching cricket as 8yr kid during the world cup :) and went through all those emotions
Posted by: ndigits at February 10, 2011 10:36 AM
Great walk down the memory lane, one 90s teenager to another! and this brings back the memories of the Tendulkar special in 1996 World cup.
Posted by: yomamasita at February 10, 2011 10:36 AM
Funny read as always.....
Way to go YOUNG man....way to go....
Posted by: Rajesh at February 10, 2011 10:41 AM
Nice one, it reminds you the yesteryear cricket, a real one....
Posted by: Atmarajan Arumugam at February 10, 2011 10:45 AM
Very well written blog Neeraj :) The darn thing was so nostalgic that I wanted to shave off my beard, dye my hair black, drop a few (ok! twenty) pounds and become a teenager again. And I'm only 32! Ah! the mystique of the 90s...
You should write about our tours to South Africa and West Indies, when the entire country went to work the next day bleary eyed and seemingly intent on discussing the previous day's play and nothing else. Deadlines and meetings be damned.
And what about those Sharjah matches huh? It was a foregone conclusion that we'd lose to Pakistan but watching Sachin score an effortless fifty when the rest of the team had nary a clue was something else. Plus you needed Star Cricket for these, which meant you either watched it with your friends or stood in front of a TV shop exchanging views with random people on what's best for Indian cricket.
Posted by: Ghanesh Raajasekar at February 10, 2011 11:04 AM
Sorely missing the 90's- the decade which gave us so many wonderful moments. Still cant forget the tear drenched semis.... still remember how my 68 year old grand father was brought to tears.....nor how he leaper in joy when Jadeja slammed waqar all over the park in the quarters
Posted by: Mani at February 10, 2011 1:19 PM
Yes, I know what you mean. It could be because I was (roughly) the same age. You didn't mention the WC, but that was one of the big moments in 1996 for me (the others being the 'birth of Ganguly and Dravid with the almost twin hundreds on debut; and the Titan Cup which India won despite being a total underdog). Dude, that reminds me, for all of Anil and Sri's lousy fielding, that one match against Australia when they won the game with the bats and their moms watching is enough to excuse them.
Posted by: Apoorv at February 10, 2011 2:26 PM
Well written :)
My interest in the game was aroused specifically by a supplement given out by the Times Of India a few weeks before the WC that had information on squads grounds etc.
Posted by: Kanav at February 10, 2011 2:44 PM
hahaha....... loved the quote "As captain, my first rule did not allow any members of the Sector 55 Noida team to use any expletives while playing. I guess, once upon a time, I was a relatively better person."
I never remember playing against you and not being subject to expletives..... such was our passion be it cricket or our legendary football games in our school ground....
Miss those times :)
Well written yet again..btw.. :)
Posted by: Nakul Sud at February 10, 2011 3:07 PM
Well written Neeraj...I like the hairstyle part the best.
What happened about expletives later on in life?
Posted by: Abhisar Gaur at February 10, 2011 4:23 PM
Very well written..:)
Posted by: Narayanan S at February 10, 2011 4:52 PM
Wonderful piece of writing, I'm only 22 but i can get what you said.I started following cricket at a very young age and loved it for all the right reasons. It still brings me a lot of nostalgic emotions when thinking about those days even though India was never a world beating side then.Thank you so much for reminding of those times.
Posted by: Tejal at February 10, 2011 5:37 PM
Nice one. The comment on 'dude' was funny and real. There really has been a tremendous turnaround since the 90's. Seems that the cricket then and cricket now are two different things.
Posted by: arnab at February 10, 2011 8:05 PM
super article!
for Sachin read Sunil Gavaskar as teenagedom came in the early eighties!
Posted by: Apar at February 10, 2011 8:21 PM
Excellent article Neeraj, loved reading and reminiscing the good old 90's life. I can still feel the warm tears of joy and pride that rolled down my cheeks when I read in 'The Hindu' sports section that couple of debutants (Saurav & Dravid) had scored centuries in England. Another occasion I remember and feel embarrassed about is the anger that I shared with million other Indians when India had lost 8 wickets for 120 runs during the WC semi-final.
Posted by: Ravi Chaudhary at February 10, 2011 11:21 PM
A very true and realistic situation described with some of the nicest words. Great article Neeraj.
Posted by: monojit at February 11, 2011 5:06 AM
real nice article - love the way the writer narrates the advent of satellite channels and the "cool" concept.
good use of language - lovely sense of humour - I just like it!
looking forward to the next one...
Posted by: Pratish Ray at February 11, 2011 7:19 AM
I think what you said is absolute crap. We didnt support India because they were a weaker team or because they couldn't field. You're probably a huge pessimist who wants to see his team lose all the time. You're one of those who will go back to iron age or ice age if given a time machine instead of the future because "life was so simple". You'd like to eat fruit and berries instead of stake or lasagnia. Yes, IPL is big business but you made absolutely no point stating why you were pleased with india not being arrogant but the 'boys' being mama's boys. How about supporting New Zealand right now. You can enjoy being whitewashed every now and then.
Posted by: Aditya Mishra at February 11, 2011 2:22 PM
Ditto as Apoorv mentioned earlier, the Times Of India supplement prior to the '96 WC made me take an interest in watching cricket. As it turned out , the first match I ever saw was Ind vs Kenya. Fittingly, the God scored an unbeaten 127 :)
Posted by: Asheesh Agrawal at February 11, 2011 8:09 PM
Some one has got real sense of humor and sarcasm. And yes, you need to be an Indian grown in 90's to really appreciate it. Few lines were really hilarious e.g, "it looked like they were standing in a temple instead of ground"; and with that nostalgic feeling flowing like a light breeze throughout the article, A real gem!!!
Posted by: Paul Spencer" at February 12, 2011 3:08 PM
Blimey this article makes me feel old.summer of 74 was the first time I watched India in uk. Cold weather at Manchester for first test and India got absolutely hammered 3-0-wasn't even a contest. Still for some reason I can name all the players from that series
Posted by: Dileep Tiwari at February 12, 2011 4:05 PM
Vow!!What to say about this article!Its a reminder to those cricket fanatics including me who just couldn't help but skip their meals for watching the cricket matches ,specially when Sachin was on a song.Thouroughly enjoyed the article!It was WC '96 when i actually started following Indian cricket team and Sachin!Since then cricket has totally changed its image.But only thing which is still the same is our little champ,batting maestro,genius,tendlya,little master,run machine..............
Posted by: Ashok Sridharan at February 12, 2011 7:28 PM
Fantastic article this! I too started following the game back in '96, the year I passed out of school. Those were great days man...though not as an Indian cricket fan. For that, gimme the 2000s anyday. I can still recollect the countless heartbreaks as a an Indian supporter- Barbados, Harare, Wellington, Durban (do I hear 66 all out somewhere?)...thank God this team knows to fight. Who cares if they aren't mama's boys? At least they don't make India look like a country of losers.
Posted by: rishi at February 12, 2011 10:11 PM
yr article moved me into tears....i also entered my teenage in 1996 and feel as though u represent everything our generation felt as far as our cricket in those times is concerned....this ,in my opinion would be hard to understand for someone much older or someone much younger than us.u brought out a 13-year old brilliantly in this article who loved his cricket more than anything.screwed up my final maths exam for 1996 world cup semifinals on 1st march ,1996.and i had cried that day!
Posted by: Sayan at February 13, 2011 5:14 AM
I can vividly remember the day when Dada scored his maiden hundred. We did not have the cable TV then in our home. I (Then 11 yr) watched the full innings standing at a window in a nearby club. And can you believe it? When he was at 97, the star sports started showing EURO 96 instead of Lord's test. If ever in my life, I had a murderous feeling in my vain, I think those were the moments.
Posted by: bks123 at February 13, 2011 6:25 AM
well said pratish...some people still thinks that india were better when ruled by british b4r 1947...They feel nostalgic abt india struggling and dravid getting india out of mud. They feel nostalgic abt india 55/5 and sachin battling to give us a decent score so that india don't lose within 3 days...But they are not happy abt india beating AUS and SA and ruling and dominating the WC (world cricket)...They feel happiness only when india wins from difficult situations, struggling...Some people are cautious and tensed abt success.
Posted by: Santanu Chakraborty at February 13, 2011 3:19 PM
Hi Neeraj,
Everyone gets nostalgic about his or her initial days of experience. I understand your feeling. I have similar nostalgic feeling about late 70s and early 80s when I got interested in cricket. Yes, there were some loveable things in the 90s, like the down to earth personalities of Indian cricket like Srinath, Kumble etc. But from the cricketing point of view, we did not consider us underdogs. We used to be satisfied by our home performance a lot and during such excellent home performance, we used to get a false impression that we were the best team in the world. At that time also, we used to claim that our batting was our main strength particularly after having big victories over England, Zimbabowe and Srilanka. Those three series made us think that our batters and spinners are the worldbeaters in spite of having the recent disgraceful performance (91-92 and 92-93). We had such a poor memory.
Posted by: Pradyut at February 14, 2011 8:32 PM
Fabulous article, Every bit of this blog is true and arouse the nostalgic era of those days(cricket).The romanticism is somewhere missing, nowadays though our Indian team is winning more matches rather than loosing.AS a teenager I used to waiting for the moment for rejoice and celebrate for a rare win of India and a century from sachin used to be an icing on the cake.
Posted by: abdus samad siddiqui at March 22, 2011 3:36 PM
there is absolutely no doubt that the best entertainment came from the english team. all matches featuring them provided nail-biting finishes. and they won when it mattered most. intelligent cricket. wont be surprised if they lift the world cup.
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