When men in blue cry on live TV, they make India cry too. And these tears become the agent washing away years of trauma of losing ICC finals and breaking a billion hearts that beat with hope for the ‘Men in Blue’. India has lifted the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after 17 long years, beating the South Africans.
Many in India would have cried for the Proteas too—they remain the dominant cricketing nation to have come so close to kissing an ICC trophy . They too were crying, washing away the years of burden of being called the ‘chokers’. Fans, it’s time we stopped calling them chokers—their game at the Kensington Oval in Barbados just does not remind of their outing against the mighty Australians in the 1999 World Cup semi-final in England. That day, they earned the tag; on 29 June, they shed it. They fought like champions. They just didn’t lift the trophy.
This World Cup victory is a watershed moment in the history of Indian cricket. It’s not 1983, but it is something. It’s the turning point that Indian fans had been waiting for over a decade, particularly since India’s most successful captain, MS Dhoni, retired from international cricket. It’s the beginning of the end of a generation in Indian cricket. The Kohli era has begun to end, thankfully years after newspapers wrote the obituary. But not before he had the last laugh. As for Rohit, the script couldn’t have been more perfect. He was part of a young bunch of guys who were sent—with a young captain—to write their destiny in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. They didn’t disappoint back then. It’s only fitting that he lifted the Cup in his final outing as a T20 player.
Post-match, when Kohli said it was now or never—referring to the opportunity of the ICC finals—he just shut up his critics once and for all. The memers and the spammers are going to have a tough time looking to get some quick traffic on Instagram at the cost of one of India’s best.
The only team to have gone undefeated in the series before winning a T20 finals has left a legend to be sung over for generations to come. How to put it in words? Even the captain doesn’t know. He doesn’t know what Axar Patel brings to the table—that’s just the amount of emotions that were flowing on the ground at Kensington Oval. Patel scored a fiery 47 off 31 and kept India in the hunt for a competitive total against a hungry South Africans.
The balm, at last
Heartbreaks, anger, blame game, pressure, efforts, and sacrifices. That has been the story of India over the past 13 years—the last time India lifted the Word Cup trophy, at the Wankhede.
Many won’t remember, but it was Rahul Dravid who was captaining the side when India faced an ignominious exit from the World Cup in West Indies in 2007. Dravid has finally retired the way he would have wished inside his die-hard fans’ hearts—head held ever higher. His tenure as the head coach of the Indian cricket team ends with the T20 World Cup. For a man who remained and functioned under the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar all his playing days, 29 June 2024 will also be remembered as Dravid’s day and moment. Sachin was carried by team India in 2011 at the Wankhede after the World Cup victory. Team India carried another legend 13 years later. This time, in a country where he lived his worst moments as the cricketer-captain nearly two decades ago.
The World Cup was an opportunity for Indian players to redeem themselves. And Surya Kumar Yadav’s name would be at the top in the finals. On the night—rather the day of the finals—SKY’s name would appear on the firmament. Those who say ‘you drop the catch you drop the match’ would use his footage as the template—but only to tell how it’s done. The catch didn’t hold a cricket ball, between his ten fingers; the swashbuckling batsman held the cup India had been waiting for dearly.
Team India graduated.
“2007 yaad aa raha tha; 2011 yaad aa raha tha; 2013 yaad aa raha tha,” said Rohit Sharma, remembering the years when India last lifted ICC trophies. But he kept his emotions in check. “Ladkon nein bohot saath diya hai aaj mera,” said the Indian captain, who doesn’t like the emotions getting ahead of himself.
India ran away with this one after an interregnum that many in the future would hope doesn’t last this long. And hope it doesn’t take a Boom Boom Bumrah to end the drought.
And yes, India doesn’t mind answering who captains Mumbai Indians in the IPL anymore. Rohit hugging Pandya should just heal the burning fans.
19 November 2023 heartbreak has been balmed. And India needed it dearly.