A generation that dared to dream
Why does it feel like a personal achievement that the Indian cricket team won the T20 World Cup yesterday? And why did it feel like a day of national mourning on November 20th, 2023, after India lost the ODI World Cup finals? Why is cricket in India more than just a professional sport, and instead a deeply personal experience for fans? In the final quarter of the 20th century, Indian society was on the cusp of growth, burdened by the scars of colonialism. But in 1983, through a simple game of bat and ball—one of the remnants of colonial rule—inequalities were momentarily erased. Kapil Dev, a small-town hero, led a team of underdogs to victory in the biggest arena of the cricketing world, providing new hope to a nation thirsty for inspiration. India literally ' beat them in their own game '! Through the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, a generation of Indian kids (and young adults) grew up watching an unbelievable talisman named Sachin Tendulkar bring immense joy through his