Unforgettable Tour – Sachin:India:Zimbabwe

Sachin – India – Zimbabwe

The distance between Simla and Manali is around 250 Kms. The Bus started in Simla at night. We would be reaching Manali by 10:00 AM. The guide told us we will be seeing some snow mountains in Manali. Now I am really excited.

We reached Manali at 12:00 noon. The guide told us that we will be taking rest that day as it is too late to go any where and we will be moving to Rothang Pass, a nearby snow mountain the next day. As usual I got a room for myself without having to share it with anyone. The scenic view from my room is absolutely marvelous. There is a small river flowing just in front of the hotel and I can see the Snow Mountains standing high with pride from the balcony of my room.

“I just can’t wait to reach there” I thought seeing those mountains.

And that was the day of the second encounter of India in the world cup. India was playing against Zimbabwe.

“Sachin is going to show the magic today” I thought and switched on the TV.

Then I heard something I could not believe. Sachin is not playing in today’s match. Sachin’s father expired and Sachin returned to Mumbai to attend his father’s funeral. India is going to face Zimbabwe without Sachin.

What shocking news!!! I felt really bad. I lost interest in the match. I felt very sorry for Sachin. In fact I felt very sorry for the Indian team. The Indian team was proceeding in the world cup without their best player. Nothing can be worse than this. India has still a long way to go in this world cup but Sachin being ruled out of this world cup its seems impossible for India now to enter even Super Six. I think the Captain Azhar might be feeling pressure now.

Someone knocked my door. Now I know who it is. We have made a secret code for ourselves. She would knock thrice… wait for a second… twice… wait for a second and once and it indicates that it’s her. Then if no one is there in my room I would say “Come in” and if someone is present in my room I say “Who is that?”

“Come in” I said.
She came in. She spends most of the time with me now days. Her room mate might be wondering where this girl goes all the time.
“What happened? You look so depressed” She asked.
I told the news.
“Not good news at all…”
“Yup… Today I thought I have an entire day to see the match. But…”
“What… You are going to spend your entire day sitting before that TV”
“What do you think…? Today it is India’s second match with Zimbabwe and it is world cup” I said putting pressure on the words India and World cup.
“So what… Anyway India is going to win this match. It’s Zimbabwe. India can easily go through this. Let’s go out”
“OK… I’ll come with you if India is not going to bat first. By the way what are your plans?”
“Nothing… Just like that… Let’s go and see the nearby places”
“OK…. But we have got one more hour to go for the toss… Let’s go after the toss”

After one hour we left the room as Zimbabwe started to bat. She promised me that we would come back by the time India starts its batting. Manali – The city located under the backdrop of beautiful mountains is a must see place for tourists. The view of the mountains and the mesmerizing beauty makes you forget the world.

We bought some junk food to eat while watching the match. She bought a pair of playing cards. She taught me how to play cards while I was busy watching the thriller between India and Zimbabwe. We played a few games and she won all of them. Now the match has become interesting. What a match it was… India came very close to the victory but Olonga stood between India and the victory. Still having 5 overs to go and 3 more runs to win India lost its final wicket in the form of Venkatesh Prasad who was dismissed for a beautiful delivery from Olonga.

India lost its first two matches. And Sachin being ruled out of the tournament there is no hope for India. That day was really bad. She went back to her room after the match. I went to sleep thinking of Rothang Pass, Snow Mountains that we are going to visit tomorrow praying for some miracle to happen so that India could get through this world cup.