The impact of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's knock will travel beyond Guwahati, inspiring every kid who picks up a bat in the narrow, dusty gullies, or a cramped maidan like those in Mumbai.
Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton chased down the huge target with the swagger of street fighters. Every hit to the boundary and over it was etched with a question to the bowlers: How dare you bowl to us?
The opening match had everything that makes the IPL special -- noise, nerves, and nostalgia.
Many fans hadn't even bothered to change their Team India jerseys with which they watched the match. A few wanted to carry on the stadium atmosphere into the train singing songs like Chak De India and Vande Mataram. They played them so loudly and ensured no one got a wink of sleep. Of course, the main topic of discussion was Sanju Samson.
Superstition is likely to rule the day with many believing that a small movement could result in the fall of a wicket.
'I have actually, for a few years, been trying to do something like this for my country.'
The South Africans had only recently wiped away their reputation of being chokers. Finn Allen got them to choke again.
Fans are so confident of India retaining the ICC World T20 title that that they would like March 8 (the day of the final) to be added to the list of special days in March as 'Indian cricket's double-triumph day'.
Whenever he has played a match-winning knock, the pride in Malayalees travels faster than the fastest delivery in world cricket.
When the script of the match was leading towards a sad ending for his team, Sanju Samson played that unhurried knock, exactly what was needed at that moment.
Darren Sammy: 'We are most people's second favourite team, but we're playing against their favourite.'
Cricket magnifies the joy in the City of Joy. And with the stadium illuminated in World Cup colours, it seems to have lit up the soul of Kolkata.
It was a performance wrapped in authority and flair, one that re-instated the belief that they can remain T20 World Cup champions.
After a big loss, teams often give excuses instead of honestly admitting they played badly.
Batters launched balls so high into the sky that they looked like rockets taking off from the centre square.
It is said that in Chennai, fans do not watch cricket -- they analyse and debate it and even outthink the experts. Cricket here is savoured like their favourite dish -- a hot bowl of rasam.
To witness over 100,000 people sitting in stunned silence is not a sight one can forget easily.
It takes a lot of mental strength to play in front of nearly 100,000 people in Ahmedabad. Even the bravest can succumb to the tension.
What Abhishek should understand is that what defines a good cricketer is not the duck, but how he responds to it and overcomes it.
The sight of the Tricolour fluttering in the stands sharpens the resolve of the players. It feels as though the flag has been stitched out of the hopes and heartbeat of Indian fans.
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