BY MAITHILI BISNE 

 

ON MONDAY morning, people woke up and felt like they had just come out of a bad dream. How badly they wished it was indeed that! Like the traces of a dream vanish from one’s memory, people wished that what had happened at Ahemadabad on Sunday night be erased from their mind space. That all was well and the pursuit for the World Cup trophy was still on. But, India had lost! After a speckless performance of 10-match win, a bolt from the blue. For the fans who had gathered in front of screens in homes, in clubs and in hotels, wearing matching blue jerseys, carrying flags and chanting the “Jeetega bhai jeetega..” anthem every now and then, it was all downhill post the third Australian wicket. And so there were no post-match exhilarating celebrations of fans and no vehicles on the road with people carrying the Tri-colour. The Diwali fire-crackers that were sincerely kept aside for November 19 night, too, now sulk in a corner of the house. Fans knew it would never be easy against the 5-time World Cup champion Australia. But India beating them in the run-up to the finale was enough to boost their confidence. This Indian squad was special. There was a wonderful youthfulness to their approach on and off the ground.

 

Their sprightly social media posts, their pranks and videos of them guffawing on the field were meticulously fed to the cricket fans. This resulted into an ironical situation where, while these men have become bigger stars in last one month, they have also become more ‘one among us’ for the countrymen. In the past, there have been stories galore of differences and jealousy and cold wars in the dressing room. But this time there was a seamless positivity around the boys as they painted a beautiful picture of camaraderie. In that sense, this was a Dream Team. And that is why the heart aches harder as many now feel, “If this team couldn’t...” The positivity manifested on the field for all to see. The players made new records and broke old ones as they sprinted into the finals. Their superior fitnesss levels, the fact that almost each player was performing well or exceptionally well and then the overall positivity around Indian cricket made the cricket-crazy Indians envisage Rohit Sharma and his boys up on the dais with the shiny silverware in their hands and fire-works blasting away against the backdrop at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

 

Alas! That was not to be. There will be umpteen theories about why India lost the World Cup final and what could have been done right. In fact, cricket fans spent most of Monday indulging into hopeless discussions about a result that is now irreversible. What is done is done. Time to move on. But the next World Cup will most likely be without ‘King’ Kohli and Rohit Sharma. So cricket buffs wonder if the rest of the pack will be able to maintain the charisma and keep the momentum going. Afterall, the game produces great players intermittently, but a great team is a rare treasure. How one wishes one could shake off these thoughts and simply go back in time and mend the mayhem. While that ain’t happening, India, all you can do is dream on and keep Bleeding Blue!