Dear Team India…….

 

                                           P.C: IANS/ ICC

Dear Team India, words sometimes don’t define the actual happenings and the outer crust of the layer doesn’t behold the actual phenomenon intruding inside. That’s the scenario that has been painted by demigods after juggling, fighting, cramping, enjoying, and most importantly after dominating these 2 surreal months of cricketing journey, but still what’s lost in the plot is that crown for which these things are effected for.

But after all, that’s not the end of the road actually. For every diversion, there is a service lane and that thin track eventually joins the actual pathway that has to be chased. Indeed, you were the team on par with every opponent that clashed with you. The utter flattening of all the nations until the final showdown made you the team to look for. The 3^rd World Cup trophy was on the cards and then…..

It’s a sport though, anything can happen and a whole country of 140+billion people was behind you when you were on the verge of shattering the history books with a clean sweep World Cup triumph but that wasn’t meant to be and still we, as a nation have your back.

This historic run would still be counted as one of the deadliest Indian team dominance the cricketing fraternity has ever seen. The blazing starts by the skipper fantastic Rohit Sharma always instilled a fire in the scoreboard and his team-first attitude was kind of adored to. His on-field brilliance and tactics too made Mumbai man the captain of the tournament.

The other magical tale that would be reminisced for a long time would be Virat Kohli’s sheer consistency in this long tournament. The binding force around which India’s middle and lower order elevated. Kohli’s anchoring simplified the middle over problems and paved the way for other players to be the aggressors.

Another feat he touched in this tourney was crossing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s one-day international centuries record of 49 as he became the first ever player on this planet to complete fifty of hundreds. Quite special; Right?

Unlike most of the time, this wasn’t the ICC event where Rohit and Virat played the main characters throughout in the batting department as there were new faces who engineered and played pivotal roles in India’s run to the ultimate showdown.

In the 2019 World Cup, India musical chaired with few names for the precious No.4 slot which resulted in an unstable squad and thus led to a semifinal exit after top order collapsed. Then emerged the rescue man, ‘Shreyas Iyer.’

Iyer set the stage on fire lately in this campaign as he tore apart every line-up he was presented with. He smashed over 500 runs as no.4 which was the highest ever by any Indian player (to count) at this position. His onslaught was crucial in complementing Kohli’s steady stand at one end.

Not only summit clash lost against Australia was the déjà vu to the iconic 2003 World Cup, but a momentary keeper batter named Rahul in the Indian squad can also claim the resemblance with that unforgettable but forgettable tour. 20 years later, the former held the top position in the Indian Cricket team as head coach while the other one posed a serious threat to every opposition with his batting display & pyrotechnics behind the stumps.

Be it some of those masterful takes at crunch situations, or Superman stops, to renaming the DRS definition from Dhoni Review System to Decision Rahul System, Rahul excelled in all being a keeper. As a batter, KL Rahul flourished with his amazing Strokeplay in death overs to be the calm head whenever opposite bowlers found their mojo.  

However, if not for Hardik’s unfortunate injury, India wouldn’t have been blessed with the World Cup monster, Mohammad Shami. The master from West Bengal who just owns the art of seam bowling got to his business as soon as he touched the stone. What next? Nothing, just every stone he touched turned out to be gold, and Sultan of Seam glued to the top of the wicket-takers despite being around 5 innings short.

Another seam bowling veteran Glenn McGrath would have surely liked that as his record of 71 World Cup wickets was in menace.   

If Hardik’s absence could have bewildered the team’s plans, it was Ravindra Jadeja who made sure an all-rounder on par with Pandya’s caliber would push the opposition out of any comfort zone. His craft with the ball and ability to remove conditions from the equation kept him separate from the rest. Some useful contributions down the order aided him in garnering a position in the team of the World Cup 2023.

Not to forget the two fiery pacemen who rattled the batters early into the game and made inroads for Shami and spinners to pluck the fruits, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The two were quintessential for powerplay breakthroughs and pushing opposite batters onto the backfoot.

In a nutshell, unlike most of the prized tournaments, the Indian Cricket Team this time was commemorated with different heroes who stood tall in every opportunity they were handled. Not just on-camera heroes, the off-field heroes also deserve respect and applause which include coaches, support staff, and other members who gave it their all for that silverware.

Head Coach Rahul Dravid, whose dream was shattered 20 years ago after a touching defeat at the hands of Australia would have prayed for a fitting revenge and farewell 2 decades later in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium but it’s all planned in destiny. Along with him, batting coach Vikram Rathor saw some success with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma coming out as batting heroes in this Cup while special mention to the fielding coach T Dilip, who not just eliminated the Achilles Heels of the Indian team from the past few years, Feilding but also effected the fielding medal for best fielder for the day. It started with Virat Kohli while the whole dressing room was in joy and ecstasy, it concluded with him only with this time the dressing room in mourn and agony.

However, a sport can be merciful for some while at the same time Cruel for others, it’s the nature of the game. What’s to survival is the bright light that looms ahead. A ray of hope that tinkers upon eyes. Every failure takes us more in the contention of success, but have to follow the right path with the same energy and dedication.

Now, the preparation for the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbeans is underway and the focus should be on eradicating all past errors and moving forward for the glory.

Believe in Men in Blue as every time we do! Jai Hind