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The feeling was like a dream you hoped would go longer, long before the cloud of darkness descended. About 15,000 supporters flocked to Sharjah, pouring in through the turnstiles as the sun set. They were raucous and ecstatic, yelling, singing, waving, and doing anything they could to catch Jemi, Harry di, or Smriti’s attention.
India needed all the support they could get. This was the game of their lives, and their place in the tournament depended upon it. They were just a solitary step away from becoming champions, and they needed the lift from anywhere they could, especially considering the fact that to be the champions they had to beat them.
And the Champions were crocked. They were wounded. There was no better opportunity to beat them, and after years of close shaves and near misses, there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. But just like in times of yore, the champions showed why they are a walking juggernaut in big games.
Australia dismantled India’s ascendancy, clinically and mercilessly. They left India high and dry to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. Nothing signified it more than Harmanpreet Kaur on her haunches sucking for air towards the end of another botched run-chase.
We have seen this movie many times before. India once again had Australia curled up in a corner. And this was despite India losing 3 wickets within 8 overs. They made Australia stutter. And it was two players with the most polar opposite styles. Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet took India to within 53 runs of victory. With thirty balls remaining and six wickets in hand, India had an opportunity to secure a perfect score with two set batsmen at the crease. But they struck up a familiar, inevitable mayhem that was driven by prickling anxieties and became the narrative of their evening.
Two wickets were lost by them in four balls. Richa Ghosh, their biggest six-hitter who has apparently been batting at a position lower than optimum, was run out stealing a non-existent single to cover after Deepti holed out to the 59-meter nook at deep midwicket.
The scene in the dressing room after Richa’s dismissal evoked and eerie sense of familiarity. A sense of “we have been here before”. India were in similar situations in the 2022 CWG finals and the semifinals of last year’s T20 World Cup. They were one step away from victory and seen it all taken away from them. The scars still linger on, thereby taking help of a sports psychologist for moments like these. And when it didn’t come off, the sense of shock was palpable.
The conclusion was so obvious that, even before the last ball was bowled, eager spectators quickly made their way out of the stadium. There was a brief pause that mirrored the melancholy in India’s changing rooms, in contrast to the exuberant cheers and Mexican waves that had accompanied every Bollywood hit up until thirty minutes ago.
Surprises might or might not occur on Monday. But India has to reflect for a while once the dust settles. With the 50-over World Cup coming up in less than a year, head coach Amol Muzumdar believes that India must “learn from the disappointment and experience” in order to advance from being contenders to champions.