THE Indian cricket team may not have won the ICC Cricket World Cup Final but it captured the hearts, minds and aspirations of billions. After a dream run of 10 wins on the trot – something no Indian team has done before – the Men in Blue lost the final frontier against Australia by six wickets at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the stadium, was highly appreciative of the efforts put up by the members of Team India. After the match was over, he visited the Indian dressing room and gave words of encouragement to the entire team. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohd Shami went viral with their remarks on the interaction with PM Modi.
Never before has an Indian team given so much memories and so many moments for a country to cherish. Rohit Sharma and his boys took the Indian cricket fans into the stratosphere with the genuine pride of a ‘Made in India’ team.
Be it the swashbuckling cameos of Captain Rohit Sharma, the run-machine Virat Kohli, or Mohd Shami’s pyrotechnics with the white ball, all these will become part of the cricketing folklore. Virat Kohli finished as the leading scorer of the World Cup with 765 runs. He also eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries in the presence of his idol. The ‘Shami Show’ was a fairytale novella of a 33-year-old, who was not played in the first four matches, and yet he finished as the highest wicket-taker.
There were several positive takeaways from the tournament. Team India’s bowling attack led by Jaspreet Bumrah was acknowledged by one and all as the most potent pace attack. Mohd Siraj and Mohd Shami played their part in the fast bowling department with aplomb.
The Indian batsmen also came to the party, with Virat Kohli (765) and Rohit Sharma (597) ending up as the leading and third-highest scorers respectively. Shreyas Iyer scored a couple of tons which augurs well for him in the future. This may be the last World Cup for the likes of Rohit Sharma and VIrat Kohli but they have done enough to be remembered for a long time. Kudos Team India!
BEYOND THE BOUNDARY
VIRAT MILESTONES
Virat Kohli achieved several milestones in this tournament. He became the first batsman to hit five fifty-plus knocks in the World Cup twice. Previously, he had the same run of scores in the 2019 World Cup in England.
CAPTAIN’S KNOCK
India Captain Rohit Sharma slammed 54 sixes, the most by a batsman in this World Cup. Apart from this record, he has also slammed 86 sixes against Australia in 45 innings.
RAHUL BEATS RAHUL
Wicketkeeper batsman KL Rahul broke his idol and chief coach Rahul Dravid’s record for the most dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper in a World Cup. When he took Mitchell Marsh’s catch in the final against Australia, he effected 17 dismissals. The previous best (16) stood in Rahul Dravid’s name.
‘ENDED UP SHORT’
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja thanked PM Modi for his encouragement. “We had a great tournament but we ended up short yesterday. We are all heartbroken but the support of our people is keeping us going. PM @narendramodi’s visit to the dressing room yesterday was special and very motivating,” he posed on X
‘WASN’T OUR DAY’
The visuals of PM Modi consoling a distraught Mohammad Shami will be etched in memory for long. Shami posted: “Unfortunately yesterday was not our day. I would like to thank all Indians for supporting our team and me throughout the tournament. Thankful to PM @narendramodi for specially coming to the dressing room and raising our spirits. We will bounce back!”
