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As India gets ready to stage a fourth 50-over World Cup- the first the country is hosting entirely by itselfthe cricket will be enthralling, but the tournament will be unlike any other sporting event in the nation

- VISHNU PRASAD

Few relationships in sports are as fascinating as the one between the cricket World Cups and the Indian psyche. One could probably use World Cups as landmarks to identify changes in how the country perceives itself, and not be off by a lot. The barely believable victory in 1983 was proof of how India was slowly beginning to transition from being a newly independent nation, still shaking off the scars of colonialism, to one that was genuinely beginning to believe that it could be a world leader. Here was a team-laughed at by the former colonial masters as tourists and sightseers that trumped the best in the world to lift the cup on foreign soil. The successful hosting of the 1987 event only served to reinforce the notion that the country was beginning to wake up to its potential.

By the time the 1996 World Cup came along, a lot had changed. India was five years into liberalisation and had begun to spread its wings and assert itself on the global stage as a potential economic powerhouse. Cricket was probably the first product that had the country as its biggest market, and the 1996 edition was the genesis of that shift. There was now a worthy god for the devotees to worship in Sachin Tendulkar, someone who made being the best in the world look so easy and natural. That tournament too was a roller-coaster ride. A win in a memorable quarterfinal in Bengaluru triggered nationwide euphoria while a loss in the semifinal at the Eden Gardens triggered riots. Being the fourth-best in the world at something was no longer good enough.