WE WISHED, THEY FULFILLED...  WE PRAYED, THEY GIFTED

I never thought I would write on this day. One of the most difficult days to express anything for obvious reason. When we are happy, we celebrate. When we are devastated and not just sad, we MUST UNDERSTAND. A few days back, I told my husband that when we win, I am going to put this title line as a caption with this picture of Indian team. We did not win, but still I want to put and spread this to the ENTIRE NATION. This writing is an attempt to channelize our damage, our cry to a right direction on what we did and not on what has resulted.

We were not ready for this emotional damage. Undebatably, it was not our day. The way Rohit and his heroes have been playing so far, this was not expected, not deserved. When we say that, ultimately it’s just a game and someone must lose, let’s accept the fact that we do not really mean it. Cricket has been a part of our heart and life, at least for an obsessed cricket lover like me. Like my DNA, cricket is hereditary to me, and I assume the same for most of you. I cried today, not because I cannot accept defeats with grace, but because this game was a heartbeat for all of us, which we skipped today. We wanted to win this for Rahul Dravid, for Rohit Sharma and for Virat Kohli.

Our team broke multiple records in this world cup season. We displayed some stellar performances during the league and knockout match. Those triumphs and more importantly those exceptional spells with the bat and the ball are permanently etched in our mind now. The fact that we lost today cannot demean the support, strength, and the love which our entire Indian team deserves from each one of us. It’s time to pass on our support to our team with the same intensity and wholeness with which we sing our National Anthem and Vande Mataram in the stadium. We won as one till the semis and hence, we lost today as one. If we are so heartbroken, imagine what our players would be going through.

It is difficult to take even a crawling step from here for every crazy cricket fan. We thought that the payback, the attack of 2019 was due, and we desperately wanted to deliver it on time. We did that quite convincingly till semis for sure. You know what, I was so much willing to see India losing in one of the league matches. I never wanted an undefeated entry to the Final. I literally prayed for India to collapse in one match. I fear consecutive wins and consistent victories, both in the cricket world and my personal world. This is so because, I know if everything is extremely smooth, God has his own way to show his will. And what he showed today, costed us our dream as cricket lover.

We do not want to do postmortem on what went wrong. In all ways, it was not our day and that is enough in a game of cricket. When I try to dissolve my feelings with something good to lessen its severity, I can only see Kiwis in front of me. New Zealand team lost the semifinal against us, and they would have felt the same, which is understandable. What was and is not acceptable is the way England was declared as winners in 2019. That face and smile of Kane Williamson is still fresh in our minds. At rock-bottom, we have a reason to try and accept that Australia played better cricket than us on this very day and so we lost. Back in 2019, Kiwis didn’t even have a logical and legitimate reason to accept their defeat. I can now realize what they must have felt and how they could have held their nerves. Destiny snatched the world cup from Kane’s hand but not smile and his evergreen attitude of perseverance and resilience. The respect for this man and New Zealand team reached another height today.

To summarize, I will wish and wait to see Rohit Sharma and this same team to hold T20 World Cup next year here in the US!! I wish I had that reach to share this with our team. We are with you, today and forever. Power and positivity to our team from every Indian 😊

Jai Hind !!