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Follow UsThe TV screens are blank, just like our minds. The stadiums have long been emptied, and so have our hearts.
19th November, 2023
A date that was supposed to be historic for over a lakh fans, turned into a nightmare that most would want to forget.
For the longest time, I had all but decided in my head that this - the last edition of my attempt at writing something different - would be about celebrating the India win or something around that.
But fate, and Travis Head, had other plans.
On the way to the stadium. Seated in the cab, with eyes still fixated on the screens.
We watched Glenn Maxwell win the game for the Australians, something that looked impossible just a month ago.
Now that I’ve had a night to process it, which honestly is a night more than what I need to get over such results.
I guess that's what 15 years of pain does to you.
But unlike me, there were a lot of heartbroken fans outside the stadium. And they probably looked at the camera the way I would look at my therapist.
Why are the hotel rates so high? Shouldn’t they put a cap on all of this?
As Indian fans, if we only don’t get to watch our team playing, then what’s the point of all this?
These were some of the points a Team India fan had to make after suggesting the management to get rid of everyone in the current setup.
If nothing else, our own manager felt that results like these make him appreciate MS Dhoni, the skipper, even more.
Despite 10 of our players doing well this time, we managed to lose the final. He lifted a World Cup with the help of a semblance of a bowling attack.
Uske pair dhoke peene chahiye.
Not sure if that’s the kind of shoey the Australians would indulge in though.
For they now have their hands and feet on the coveted trophy.
Again, nothing preceding yesterday’s events had prepared us for this.
When we landed in Ahmedabad on Saturday, the feeling of excitement was palpable.
The streets were painted blue, with the blue of the Indian jersey till as far as the eye could see in any direction.
In fact, we were welcomed with placards of,
Welcome to Ahmedabad for the final showdown!
Maybe it’s a bit of selfishness on my part, but after all the work the entire team has put in for the better part of the last couple of months, watching India and Rohit Sharma lift the trophy would have been a nice icing on the cake.
Having not once seen India lose in this World Cup had sort of made us oblivious to what it feels like to lose a game.
All of this is such a stark difference to what we experienced in Wankhede at the end of the first semi-final last week.
The air of inevitability post that game was just too hard to ignore.
We decided to go back from the stadium by the Mumbai local. And we didn’t have to regret it one bit.
We had people trying to predict how big the margin of defeat was going to be in the final, and if they’d prefer a thriller over a one-sided game.
Maybe it was this extreme optimism that came back to bite us. Or maybe not.
Either way, it is time for me to bid adieu and let you guys leave with the lingering thought of what it could have been.
Just like the Indigo stewardesses say,
We’re globetrotters, go-getters, and high-flyers.
This has been a sincere attempt at trying to put into words the experiences we’ve had during the World Cup.
And to all those who’ve actually stayed on till the end, this wouldn’t have happened without you all. And thanks a ton for that.
Until the next big tournament, it's goodbye!
