Many Cheers For The Sri Lankans

Mumbai: The irony of the whole situation just couldn't be missed. Bollywood hottie Mallika Sherawat brought the oomph, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir the star power, and Sunil Gavaskar, Erapalli Prasanna, Nari Contractor and Madhav Apte the nostalgia, but the most poignant moment of the CEAT Cricket Rating International Awards night belonged to a team that has just suffered one of its worst defeats in Test cricket.

When skipper Kumar Sangakkara led the Sri Lankan team to the stage, there were more claps and cheers in the hall than for any other award winner on Sunday night. A team that somehow survived a deadly terror attack less than an year ago, was being appreciated and applauded in a five-star hotel that was ravaged by terrorists almost an year back, but now stands back in its full glory again!

What warmed the heart was the special Spirit of Cricket Award conferred upon ace Sri Lankan middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who conquered bullet injuries to stage a magnificent, inspirational comeback into international cricket. In a night about cricket awards, it felt that life wasn't just about cricket alone.

Sri Lanka had more reason to celebrate as no longer a mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis won the ODI Bowler of the Year Award. Perhaps, all this may have made the Lankans feel somewhat better after the pasting they received in the Kanpur Test.

Gambhir's dream season continued. The Delhi left-hander grabbed the International Cricketer of the Year and the Test Batsman of the Year Award here too. "I was beginning to lose self-belief when I was out of the team for two years, and I thank those who kept their confidence in me," he said.

Sehwag was named ODI Batsman of the Year. Asked if there is anybody in the team who asks him to show a bit of restraint in the middle, the devastating opener said: "I think there are a couple of players who love to watch me bat. Harbhajan Singh tells me that he goes to sleep once I get out."

Australia were named the International Team of the Year, with their pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson Bagging the Test Bowler of the Year award.

Meanwhile, Prasanna getting the lifetime achievement award brought back memories of an era when Indian spinners remained a beautiful mystery to the world.