Cricket, or for that matter, any sport is an unpredictable event is an oft repeated cliche that never satisfies the raging frustration felt by a devout fan when his / her favorite team / player collapses at the last hurdle. And that was the case with the Indian cricket team, that won all league matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and was soundly beaten by a better team in the final. Australia winning it's 6th ODI World Cup title, however commendable is not good for the game of cricket in general, whose administrators dearly want it to compete with the craze of football on a global scale. But this is not just about the victors.
The game of cricket created Gods and Demons on an equal scale in the world's most populous country. With the bogey of match fixing, so called great players were defamed in the eyes of the public. And players who were treated harshly turned into favorites of the crowd, overnight sensations, with new titles and nicknames attached to their names. The pitfalls of early success and intense public scrutiny on the players, egged on by the record loving fans of this cricket crazy nation are too numerous. For the past decade, India never won a major ICC trophy (ODI World Cup / T20 World Cup / Test Championship / Champions Trophy), failing agonizingly short in the semifinals / finals.
And so, on a pitch that offered nothing to the bowling side, we all watched helplessly, as the match slowly slipped away from our hands, that collective feeling of eerie Deja vu - jam packed stadium in complete silence, a familiar anti-climax - the blinding sense of fandom brought to a slow and painful stop by reality. Alas, it was simply not our day. "Football is a game of eleven players on two sides with a ball, and in the end, the Germans always win" - some football pundit quipped in an entirely different context few decades back. And perhaps, now it would be prudent to say that in the game of cricket, the Australians always win. For now...
And yet, nothing should be belittled about the performance of the Indian cricket team in this edition. Over a period of one and half month, we have witnessed some stellar performances, thanks to the exploits of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami, amongst others. When we batted first, it seemed as if the matches finished very rapidly, even before the time I got home from office. India was the better team throughout the tournament, and that is a fact even the most cynical of people would agree. It was great as long as it lasted, a much-needed relaxing boost, that made us all forget our daily troubles.
Where do we go from here? Let the dust settle. Let us not get overwhelmed with sadness. Cricket may not be just a game, but tomorrow's another day, another sweet chance to win a new world cup and be crowned. For the fruit of patience is sweet....
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