Where does Indian cricket go from here? What newer worlds are there it for it to conquer? What will to do for a generation to whom the 1983 World Cup victory was something for Granddad and Dad to rave about on nostalgic days? How much more money will it attract than it already does? These are the sort of questions that are inevitable after Saturday’s magical night out at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team confirmed their standing as the top dogs in both Test and one-day international cricket.

This was a status once reserved almost exclusively for the West Indies before the cocky Australians grabbed the crown for close to two decades. The manner in which the Men in Blue went about their task of chasing down a testing total spoke volumes of their preparation and mental strength, for which the nation should remain eternally grateful to the self-effacing Gary Kirsten and his crew of support staff, who worked tirelessly for three long years to make this Indian dream come true.
Significantly, India’s victory in 1983 was one of the triggers for the near terminal decline of cricket in the Caribbean. If it does the same for Australia now, there appear to be very few threats to India’s potential domination of the sport for some years to come. In the course of World Cup 2011, this Indian team revealed unexpected depths and resilience — witness the star-studded displays by Yuvraj Singh, who not very long ago had almost been lost to the game, the granite determination of the captain, or the Zen-like calm of a Zaheer Khan, who was so terribly scarred in the disastrous final of 2003. Be that as it may, at least this much is certain — India have rewritten history in more ways than one in the course of their monumental chase of the World Cup title, and side by side, confirmed their place at the centre of the cricketing universe. With the Indian Premier League having become the template for cricket as pure entertainment for administrators of the game around the world — and one offering seriously big bucks to its practitioners — there is little standing in the way of the nation remaining pacesetters both on and off the field for some time to come. In fact, the most immediate effect may well be felt at IPL-4, which kicks off on Friday for a 51-day ride, and it will quickly demonstrate whether or not there is an overkill factor involved. After all, the emotional high of winning the game’s premier tournament — and fulfilling a national icon’s 31-year search — is a pretty steep one and difficult to replicate at such short notice.
On a completely different note, Saturday night’s triumph will affirm the confidence of, and indeed boost, an already upwardly mobile and aspirational young India still further. Not for nothing does the world now look as this country as the story of the future, and the self-belief that will be derived from seeing their team beat every world champion team of the past — the West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — on their way to the pinnacle will serve to underline aspirations and self-confidence still further. India now knows that it can take on — and best the best. In many fields, Indians have become world leaders, and while cricket is still and all only a game, to this country it means so much more. It was first a lever for young men from smaller towns and cities to pry open the door to the top. It could now well become a vehicle to the future for so many more of their compatriots.