Beyond the Blues

This was the timeline of thoughts that pinched every ardent fan of Indian cricket on the day of the fateful final. When the Men in Blue bundled-out for an insufficient 241 against a resilient Australia in the all-important final on November 19 – well over a million hearts broke. Undeniably distressing it was; no doubt. But, can fans make peace with it; at least for the sake of the sport? For a second, can they jolt themselves out of the grief and look at some of the positives of this World cup. Should they manage this, they are sure to emerge out of this “great depression” and understand the sport through the lens of objectivity. Here is a lowdown on three key moments that will make the 2023 edition of the coveted World Cup in India, an eventful cricketing spectacle.

The first in the list is the Black Horse of the tournament – Afghanistan. The show that skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co. put up at this year’s tournament is hands-down “a win for the ages”. Afghanistan’s 69-run triumph against England came at a time when the country is battling a slew of challenges – a devasting earthquake had just wreaked havoc in the city of Herat; its economy is in shambles and the Taliban government appears to be indifferent towards improving the nation’s global image. Battling such odds, the Afghanistan cricket team, one of the “minnows” in the tournament, stood up against the mighty English and made their country proud in, what can be termed as, the biggest upset of the 2023 World Cup. No wonder, in a post-match interview, famed Afghan spinner Rashid Khan told the broadcasters that cricket is something that brings joy to the people back home and winning the game against England is big for them. “Recently, we had an earthquake back home. Over 3,000 people lost their lives, many houses were destroyed, so this win will put a little bit of smile on their faces and maybe, they can little bit forget those days,” he was quoted as saying.

This world cup also saw Virat Kohli etching his name in cricketing history by notching up his 50th century in whiteball cricket, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49. Beyond the personal mile stone, Kohli’s strategically crafted innings laid a solid foundation for India, setting a formidable target of 398 runs against New Zealand at Wankhede in Mumbai on that day. “Today is special. It was a perfect picture – the person I love the most (wife, Anushka Sharma) is in the galleries along with my hero (Sachin Tendulkar). And I could score my 50th hundred in front of them. This is perfect,” he expressed to the presenter. Tendulkar, acknowledging Kohli’s achievement, applauded the “effortless-looking” knock. Reflecting on their journey, Tendulkar shared a nostalgic moment, recalling the day Kohli entered the Indian dressing room.

“He made it look easy. I still remember the first day when he got into the Indian dressing room; the others played a prank on him and got him to touch my feet. They said, you have to do this, as it’s a tradition. From that day till now, he has been a phenomenon,” Tendulkar remarked, while discussing the innings with a panel of experts.

“Shakibing” – the word, kept after Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, came into being in this World Cup. Previously, “Mankading” was the usual suspect in sparking debates on cricket’s sportsmanship. But post this World Cup, “Shakibing” got added to that list of triggering words. How? Well, it became the buzz word in cricketing circles after the Bangladesh captain pulled out an almost-forgotten rule from the elusive pages of cricket rulebook and “timed-out” Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews in an encounter between the two nations at the World Cup. The incident, which transpired at Firoze Shah Kotla in Delhi during a group match between the two nations, made Mathews as the first player ever to be dismissed in such a manner in the history of international men’s cricket. Narrowing down this list to just three selections proved to be a challenging decision on our part, considering there were other equally deserving candidates. Be it Glenn Maxwell’s master piece of 201 of 128 balls after the Aussies were 91 for 7 chasing a sturdy 292 by Afghanistan, or Indian paceman Mohammed Shami’s match-winning 7 wicket-haul in the semi-final, – the history of World Cup cricket will remember 2023 as a year of many milestones.