November - The month of legends and grace

Graceful, subtlety, ecstasy - any appraising word one can imagine has to go hand-in-hand with the eleventh month of the year. The trees take on a quiet beauty, very different from the flashy brilliance of October. The heavy, felted clouds make the sky feel closer and more oppressive. 

Is it only mother nature that takes the form of grace in the grey and short November days? People witness inspirational history and the birth of legends in the form of sports in the month that announces the arrival of winter. The beauty of "November Rain" needs no second mention, as per.

In football, one of the greatest players of all time Leo Messi's birth in the history books with his first match for FC Barcelona on 16th November 2003 against Porto in a friendly match while another legend Diego Maradona sadly passed away on 25th November 2020 after an inspirational career for people.

In cricket and the sport that is the topic for the day and the article, the greatest ever red ball batter and one of the greatest in history Sachin Tendulkar played his first international game on 15th November 1989 and the last on 14th November 2014.

To top that off, arguably the greatest ever white ball batter of cricket history and undeniable greatest of the modern day gentleman's game Virat Kohli broke his own idol and the legend Sachin Tendulkar's long-lasting records of 49 ODI centuries and most runs in a World Cup edition by an individual (673 runs in World Cup 2003) on 15th November 2023, just 10 days after his 35th birthday. If this, including all, does not indicate November being a graceful month for a sports fanatic what else can?

Even the football legend David Beckham was excited to watch Virat Kohli at the Wankhede live tonight and he delivered. Beckham mentioned in the Star Sports' innings-break analysis show: "I am in India at the very right time. I've seen the Diwali, today I saw Virat Kohli bat and reach his 50th century".

Sachin Tendulkar himself was really happy to witness Virat Kohli breaking his record being an Indian and Tweeted about it mentioning how impressive it was to see him growing into a 'Virat' player, which means a 'big' player in English.

What makes the record-breaking story of 35-year-old Virat Kohli even more interesting is how and where the man made his name in the history books. First, the 5ft 9in man from Delhi did it in front of Sachin himself. Second, he did it in his home ground of Sachin and the ground where Sachin played his last international game - namely the Wankhede Stadium of Mumbai. Third, he did it in the semi-final of the World Cup for the fact that he had no innings above 35 runs in any knockout game of the three World Cups he played before. 

Virat Kohli was in immense joy to have achieved a record-breaking ton and this was noticeable when he bowed to Sachin Tendulkar and blew flying kisses to his wife Anushka Sharma. Virat said in the innings-break show, "Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin Paaji was here too. Difficult to explain this. If I could paint a perfect picture I would want this to be the picture. My life partner, the person I love the most is sitting there, my hero is sitting there and I was able to get the 50th (ODI hundred) in front of all of them and all these stands in Wankhede as well, such a history venue so it was amazing".

The most important part of this innings is that Virat Kohli could do it in a winning cause for his team. His century, alongside the one of Shreyas Iyer, made sure India reached a very healthy and defendable total of 398 runs. At one point this huge run on the scoreboard was looking like a chaseable total due to how Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson were batting but this is where the beauty of November and its magic comes in. Mohammed Shami, who played his first Test match on 6th November 2013, continued bowling with figures like a Test match innings just as similarly as he did in the previous five matches in the tournament. His 7-fer, the first in the knockout stages of the World Cup, had the better of the Blackcaps' batting lineup.

Now, back to the man who took the destruction of New Zealand at first in the game. The way Virat Kohli has made his name in the whole world is itself a story of inspiration for the young boys and girls who aspire to be a cricketer one day. He is the one who impressed the Olympic Committee to take back cricket in the Summer Olympics of 2028 after more than 100 years. He is the one who made a whole generation of people fall in love with the gentleman's game. All in all, he - the November-born man - is the one who makes cricket look so easy and beautiful. 

November - the month will be mentioned every now and then by the historians of sports. November - the month will be remembered always by the lovers of sports. November - the month should never change the ecstasy it holds for mother nature and sports, for the literal value it embraces.