Dehradun, March 8 -- Today is the final of the T20 World Cup. In most countries it is merely a sporting event. In India, it is something far deeper - almost a collective emotion, a shared heartbeat. Cricket in our country is not just a game; it is a religion. Stadiums become temples, players are elevated to demi-gods, and every delivery is watched with the devotion usually reserved for sacred rituals.

Sachin Tendulkar once said, "Sometimes people throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones." That perhaps captures the strange intensity of cricket in India. A victory sends the nation into raptures; a defeat can plunge millions into gloom. The writer CLR James famously asked, "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?...