| Cups may come and cups may go, but you’re our world forever Who hasn’t heard of the Sunday blues? Given the number of hearts that sank the last time this damned day of the week came to a close, I’m not gonna forget mine in a while. As Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne took Australia home on the night of the 19th, for the first time in this World Cup, my family WhatsApp group went silent. I know just why Anurag in my team got late to work the following Monday. I haven’t seen a heavier pall cast over the psyche of an entire nation of sports lovers in a long time (not counting the traumatic 2003 final, obviously). After scoring a perfect 10 in the 10 games our team won up till the semis, the final was surely but a formality? After Virat Kohli breaking two mammoth batting records, Hitman Rohit Sharma making a mockery of the powerplay and Mohammed Shami stamping his authority with some unbelievable spells, surely lifting the cup was the natural progression?  The way it went down was quite heartbreaking, too. Rohit started as usual, dispatching the Aussie bowling to all corners, setting us up for another ridiculously colossal total. Then Gill fell. Just when I ordered a pumpkin spiced latte to go with Iyer’s sixes, his good run was cut short, too. Somehow, our batting trudged on and Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan and family, among others from the film fraternity in the spectators, kept up the cheering. But Kohli’s dismissal really left a lump in everybody’s throat. The Harsha Bhogles of my team later told me that the fact that the pillars of this team were not expected to play the next world cup in 2027, was the most gutting. What has been admirable after that is the way we, as a cricket-crazy nation, have dealt with our disappointment without blaming our boys in blue. Alongside cinema, cricket is lifeblood for us. Fail ho jao, jeb kat jaaye, haddi toot jaaye — match jeet gaye toh life sahi hai. And yet, when it was all over and our champs hung their heads in resignation — we, the nation of unapologetic romantics that we are, rushed to comfort them. On social media, in homes, on WhatsApp groups — we told each other it was just not our day. After prevailing over the world (including Australia) for 10 games on the trot, wasn’t losing one perhaps just a matter of probability? Remember how MS Dhoni once put in perspective India’s unconquered status versus Pakistan in World Cups? “If you are proud of the fact that hum 11-0 se jeete hain toh ek reality yeh bhi hai ki hum kabhi na kabhi haarenge. We cannot keep winning endlessly,” said Mahi. Mauka-mauka karne waalon, haarna simple maths hai. The Indian team set the tournament on fire and gave us moments to be proud of for years to come. Our national sentiment of generosity — atithi devo bhava — and our evolution as largehearted sports, was also partly reflected in the way we lauded Australia’s gumption and game even as we licked our own wounds. I still can’t get over how Anurag appreciated their superb fielding as he joked about it seeming like Australia had 15 men guarding the ropes. To the Harsha Bhogles of my team, I’d still say, 2027 duur nahin saathiyon. As for Australia — bring it on, mate. |
