I cried.

I was not born then. My mother says she had cried back then on her birthday. 25th June, 1983. Kapil Dev. Mohinder Amarnath. Some great cricket.

She cried again last night. As did I.

When Sachin strode out to play with Sehwag, we had a sense of awe about them. That no target is too huge while these two are at the crease. A God. And a lesser God. But Gods.

Then went Sehwag. Sachin looked in touch. But He fell too. Anti-climax before the end. I was amazed at how someone I do not know can affect me so much. I was angry. Really enraged.

But then two Delhiites came to the crease. And took us a distance. I had hope again before Virat fell.

Then came the master stroke. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. It takes guts to stand up and say, "I am your leader. I will take you to the end". Dhoni proved that he had it in him. Biblical, almost.

A grittier knock never has the world cup seen by a captain in the finals. Maybe, Da Silva in the 1996 finals. But no. Not of this kind. Dhoni played his heart out. He came out to the pitch, and he batted like there was no tomorrow. As if losing today, and his heart would stop beating. Clutched at his wicket with the same tenacity as a drowning man holds on to his last breath. But Dhoni held. And he emerged.

That stump that he picked up. I am taking the World Cup home. Awesome.

I was adrenaline-pumped then. Big time. I was laughing my ass off at everyone of the doubters. Everyone who ever said that India would not win.

But then something even more awesome happened. The kids carried Sachin on their shoulders and paraded. Sachin. The Man we all admire. The Man we all respect. The Man we all love. The Man who makes us believe in miracles, and in Gods, and in switching off our lives and switching on our television sets.

Sachin. Now He has everything. And He can now sit back and say, "I did what I had to do. But now, the time has come where I have Men I can trust to do my job."

He has been at it for 22 years. 22 YEARS.

Now, He can rest.

Thank You, Dhoni and Sachin. And all the others involved. You had to be the ones to make me cry. And I have no regrets.

Thank you for making me cry.

- Vinaykrishnan.