Aadi's Sports Corner

Sometimes plans don’t work out in our favour. We can have the best of times and greatest of achievements, but fail to cross the final hurdle. Such was the case of the Indian Cricket Team after losing the World Cup Final against Australia in front of a jam packed home crowd. 19th November, 2023, a day every Indian team fan has been waiting to get over. A scar which many believed would never heal.

Fast forward 6 months and we have a T-20 World Cup in June 2024. Jointly hosted by West Indies and USA, it was considered as the biggest T20 World Cup with 20 countries going head to head for the biggest prize. ICT fans’ expectations going into this tournament were shallow. With the fear of the horrors of 2023, no fan wanted to feel the emotional and gut wrenching loss of their beloved team once again. But as we say, “Cricket is a Religion in India” and one can barely stay away from worshipping the God like cricketers. The fans rallied on to support their beloved cricketers for no one knows what tomorrow holds. 

The Blue Army arrived in numbers to show their love and passion for ICT. Painting the stadiums blue along with the tricolour has become a norm for ICT fans. 

The earlier stages of the tournament saw the team cruise past Ireland and hosts USA, with an iconic win against arch-rivals Pakistan in New York. A win against the odds that couldn’t be written better by any scriptwriter. With a comfortable group stage having the bowlers outperforming themselves in every match, the team’s major concern was the form of their seasoned campaigner, Virat Kohli. The modern day great struggled to get going in the initial stages and his struggles were clearly visible in the super 8 stages as well. 

Drawn into a group with Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, it was fair to say that India along with Australia were the clear favourites to progress to the next round. 
India went onto clean sweep their group along with Afghanistan who shocked favourites Australia by knocking them out in the group stages. A moment to rejoice for a country that made it to the semi-final of a World Cup for the very first time in their history. 

Semi-final 2 saw India clash with England which was a repeat of the 2022 World Cup, where England knocked India out with a crushing 10 wicket victory.  Would history repeat itself or would India defy the odds to rewrite a new story?

 Questions that were answered on a rain hit matchday that saw India land the knockout blow on England by defeating them by 68 runs. Rohit Sharma’s 50 and Axar Patel’s clinical spell sealed the deal for India. 

India had a date with destiny after 6 months. They were against another undefeated side in South Africa who had just made it to their first ever World Cup Final. “Generational Chokers vs Chokers of the Decade” was the cry of the fans as one of the teams was to end their trophy drought. A win for India could see them heal the wounds of the 2023 catastrophe. 

“He is saving his best for the final”, were the words of the captain on the eve of the final, when asked about Virat Kohli’s form. He indeed saved his best for the big day. A 76 run knock saw the team rise to 176 in 20 overs after losing 3 wickets in the powerplay. Cameos from Axar Patel and Shivam Dube made the difference too. 

Jasprit Bumrah grabbed an early wicket with Arshdeep Singh following him. The 2 early wickets had the match set for a blistering end. The match was fairly competitive with both sides trying their best to get across the finishing line. Heinrech Klassen and Quinton De Kock were the anchors of the South African innings. They took the team to a point where they required 27 runs of 28 balls. The moment that had every ICT fan ready for another severe heartbreak and loss.

But you can never count a team out that has the greatest bowler ever. Bumrah was the ace up the sleeve who turned the game on its head with his splendid bowling. A final over catch by SKY put India within touching distance of the World Cup.

India won the T20 world cup after 17 years by 7 runs, under Rohit Sharma having the final over bowled by Hardik Pandya, with Virat Kohli winning the M.O.M award and Jasprit Bumrah winning the P.O.T.T. award. 

Fairytale ending right?

A victory that ended a 10 year long wait for an ICC trophy. A victory that healed the wounds of 2023. A victory that saw Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have the best ending in their final T20 game. A victory that asserted Hardik Pandya’s status as the “Best White Ball All-rounder” and cemented Rahul Dravid’s legacy as ICT Head Coach. 

That’s why they say, “If it goes according to your plan, you should rejoice. But if it doesn’t go according to your plan….. It’s GOD’s plan baby!!!!!”