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For Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, who had given their
all to craft this Indian World Cup campaign, it was not to be and will never
be. There will be regret and sadness. Pain will ache and not go away. That is
how brutal sports can be. It creates scars and losers. There were probably more
tears in the locker room than on the field.
No team in World Cup history has ever dominated a
competition so thoroughly and then lost the championship game. Not only had
India won the first ten games of the tournament, but they had completely
destroyed and overpowered their opponents. Though there will be just hollowness
and misery in the moment, there will be time to think, find pleasure, even
pride, when the rawness of the night has passed. As he approached to pick up
the Player of the Tournament award, it was evidently written on the face of Virat
Kohli, the most successful and reliable batter in the competition.
When Dravid showed up for the news conference, he
spoke calmly and even smiled a little. Before India’s semi-final match against
New Zealand, I had a conversation with him, and naturally, the topic led to how
amazing India had been up to that point. He claimed that in a knockout, it only
mattered whose team was the greatest on that one day, regardless of who had
been the best team throughout the competition. To be honest, he most likely
stated as much to his side.
There was no shame for India in the ultimate loss.
They faced opposition from both a winning culture and a team. Although
Australia wasn’t the top team in the competition, they still gave it their all
in the most important match, just as they have done for more than 20 years.
They found in Travis Head a batter with the clarity and bravery to play an
innings to cherish for a lifetime. They were also astute and brave at the toss,
going against the grain to bank the runs in a final; and they were skillful,
smart, and unerringly disciplined with the ball on a pitch that seemed designed
to negate their strengths. India’s inability to be at the top of their game was
because they weren’t allowed to be.
The day before the final, Rohit sat in front of us and
talked a lot on balance and composure. Yes, he remained composed during the
forty-minute conversation. He and we both understood that the World Cup final
would never be just another game. The next day, even for him, would be his
final opportunity to experience that emotion again since there would only be
one World Cup winner in the starting lineup. For everyone else, even David, it
would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hold that trophy.
Rohit batted in the final the same way he did all
tournament, and he handled them all quite fine. Prioritising maximising the
powerplay over protecting his own wicket, charging quick bowlers, hitting lofty
fours and sixes, and not letting a sense of danger interfere with battle
strategy. and failing to hold back when you were about to reach a significant
personal milestone.
When India had batted first and been restricted for
less than 250 runs, they had triumphed by 100 runs, bowling England out for
129. However, in this instance, their opening bowlers, who had intimidated
hitters throughout the competition, went for 41 in the first four overs. KL
Rahul, who had been outstanding throughout the competition, gave up byes. Most
importantly, the spinners had no effect on a pitch that had promised a feast.
For each of us, that is the way life unfolds. We shed
a few. Just like athletes, we prepare our equipment and head to work. Unlike
them, though, we are not under public scrutiny; as sports fans, we can muster
compassion for individuals who push themselves to the furthest in the sake of
athletic greatness, giving birth to such joys in the process.
But the highs that are their reward are something we
will never know. And the depth of their lows, which are their burden, is
something we can never know.
Still, no one will know better than Rohit and Dravid
that it’s already a new day. There might never be a World Cup win for them. But
there are loved ones to go to. Life awaits still.