214 days ago. A sea of blue engulfed the streets. The air was positively fizzing with anticipation, but not an anxious one. Coronation day waited for the golden generation. 11 playing for the dreams of 1.4 billion. 11 playing to reach the pinnacle of cricket. 11 playing to finally be good enough.
The 2023 ODI World Cup was one of ecstasy, pain, and reflection. All of these worked together to reveal something meaningful about Indian cricket and give us an idea of how we can take these lessons into the 2024 T20 World Cup and beyond.
Ecstasy
There are a few sporting bases in the world that match the Indian cricket fans’ infighting, politicking, and, at times downright hatred of their own team. However, even a fan base as jaded and vitriolic as us could not deny the joy exuding from the Indian cricket team’s fearless battling.
Prior to the tournament, there was a quiet confidence among the camp and fanbase, with a general optimism permeating through Indian cricket discourse. The question of talent had moved past questioning as each player of the squad had proved himself to be as talented as they come. There was no prediction of the World Cup semifinals that did not include the Blues. However, there lingered a question of mentality. 11 years of feeble tournament exits had made the cricketing world weary of the team’s mettle when the going got tough. The Indian fans had faith despite the lack of historical assurance, owing mainly to the fact that this World Cup would be held at home.
The partisan home crowds cheered voraciously as the team gave them a reason to get louder and louder. The batters slashed, cut, and drove their way into mammoth totals while the bowlers embarrassed some of the game’s premier batsman restricting them to double-digit scores.
The first real shot of ecstasy came in game 3. India v Pakistan, a rivalry soaked in political and historical turmoil was set to log its next meeting in Ahmedabad. October 14 was a date anticipated by all as it signalled the first meeting in a decade between these two storied nations in India. The game was a must-win for the Blues for a multitude of reasons, not least of all the fact that there would have been effigies had Pakistan gotten a result in their own backyard. Yet still a stoic confidence surrounded the team even when faced with a talented team and a game where form goes out the window.
The game had a cagey start, as India’s new ball prowess restricted the opening batters. 7 overs went by routinely, a couple of boundaries, a couple of probing balls that made us “ooo and ahh.” The pressure, courtesy of the pace bowlers and a vociferous Ahmadabad crowd built and built until finally, someone blinked.
In the 8th over Mohamed Siraj harnessed the variable bounce to perfection, catching Abdullah Shafique on the pads to send him on his way. The Ahmedabad stadium roared as the blues struck first blood. The tight lines and lengths continued to suffocate the Pakistani top order, however, two of their leading men arrived at the crease with hopes of steadying the ship through murky blue waters
Babar and Rizwan’s resistance would soon be quashed in the 29th when Pakistan’s captain got caught out, once again, by the pitch’s uncertainty. Kuldeep Yadav’s spin magic was to follow, picking two crucial middle-order wickets in the 32nd over and taking the winds out of Pakistan’s slow but moving sails. India’s bowling piece de resistance was still to come, however. Jasprit Bumrah took the white ball to start his second spell, looking to back up his economic performance with some numbers in the first column. The first five balls saw more of the same, as he hit a good length and pace. The variation would arrive in the sixth ball, as India’s ace wrapped his wrists around the old ball, angling it from 6th stump…5th stump…4th stump…, sneaking through Rizwan’s bat and pad and crashing into off stump. The raucous faithful rose from their seats with deafening aplomb, as India had their boot on the throat of their fiercest rival.
Pakistan limped towards an extremely modest total of 190 runs as the Blues were poised to take a famous victory in domineering fashion. The captain and the prince walked out to the middle with a steely-eyed determination and a stoic stillness as the walls of blue around them jumped up and down.
India’s fanbase had long spoken about the threat of Pakistan’s ace Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was perhaps the best first-over bowler in white ball cricket. If Pakistan were to have a sliver of hope, their left-arm wizard would have to show up and show out.
The first ball of India’s innings was emblematic of the confidence and courage that defined much of India’s tournament. A ball too straight, too short was lifted effortlessly onto the legside. Pakistan’s best bowler was disdainfully taken down in the very first ball, as green heads dropped like blots of ink among a blue ocean.
The runs continued thick and fast as the run rate hovered in and around 7 runs. The wickets would come but not frequently enough to create a dent in the Indian batting juggernaut. The Blues would win with 19 overs to spare and a famous victory at home. This win was a uniquely special one, not only because of its geographical significance but also because it did not possess the relief of previous wins. This win was not one of relief but of pure unadulterated joy. India had beaten their fiercest rivals to a chorus of blue cheers from an army who believed. That belief carried the team from city to city, ending the group stage and semifinal undefeated. The team and the country were experiencing a collective ecstatic high. The team was good enough to achieve the lofty dreams of a World Cup victory.
Pain
For a tournament that lasted one month and 11 games for team India, only 1 of those games caused true anguish. It just so happened to be the most important game of the tournament and one that would cause millions of fans to question whether India was good enough.
The first blow was a subliminal one, as Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss. However, his decision to bowl first was a puzzling one at first as the consensus opinion was to bat first and put a big total on the board. This, in addition to India’s imperious batting form, made fans suspicious of Cummins’ bold call. To put it colloquially: Did they know something we didn’t?
The crowd was undeterred by this, as the number 1 and number 5 ranked ODI batsmen came out to open the innings for India. Mitchell Starc's first ball, while non-lethal, caused a slight hush in the crowd’s clamouring as the ball moved ever so subtly. This movement was the first sign that India was in for a trying time.
In the 9th over, Travis Head would pull off a feat that would change the mood of the game by taking an extraordinary running catch of the blade of India’s captain. A catch so brilliant it caused Ian Smith to wax lyrical: “One of the great catches under pressure you will ever see”
The wicket brought uncomfortable groans from the Ahmedabad crowd; however, it paled in comparison to the utter silence of Virat Kohli's wicket. In the cruelest possible fashion, the king chopped it onto his stumps, as Pat Cummins wheeled away in celebration to a chorus of nothing. It was an ironic twist as the very same bat that scored 765 runs, caused Kohli’s demise when it mattered most.
Then began the drought. A period of tentativeness and fearfulness, two adjectives, the antonyms of which had come to define India’s World Cup campaign. It seemed that wherever the ball was hit, there was a man in yellow. Dot by Dot, single by single, the game began to slip from the blues’ grasp. For all the fearless swashbuckling we had seen, we were left with 2 boundaries in 20 overs. It was a suffocating and timid mood, aided by the Australian fire that seemed to burn brighter as the noise dwindled.
The 240 total was not enough to pressure the Australian batting unit, as they came out firing, scoring 15 in the first over. Wickets would fall, but the arrival of Marnus Labuschange would provide a resolute certainty as Travis Head spearheaded the chase. India’s dominant streak and campaign came to a meek end as collective heartbreak swept the country. A team worthy of being spoken about in the pantheon was reduced to mere finalists, second best, not good enough.
Reflection
The malaise of the loss lingered for days after as people were unsure how to react to what had happened. India had lost before, but never like this. Never coming off the back of 10 dominant wins, never in the World Cup final, and never at home.
The response was not as vitriolic as years gone by, there was no calling of heads, no sweeping declarations just a quiet, perhaps harsh, confession that this generation would never see the summit. They might not have what it takes, they might not be good enough.
But what does it truly mean to be “good enough”? In a game of such fine margins like the flip of a coin, the angle of a bat, and the perfect placement of two hands beneath a falling ball. If any of the many fine margin moments had happened in India’s favour, this article would be titled “The greatest ODI team ever.”
While it can be argued that these fine margins separate the good from the great, are we also to argue that Virat Kohli’s 765-run campaign was not good enough or Rohit Sharma’s electric starts or Jasprit Bumrah’s new ball magic?
The 11 players might have been brandished as not good enough, but they achieved heights seldom seen before and will seldom be seen again. The legacy of this team will be one tinged with pain but also brimming with ecstasy. The mammoth totals they put on, the small totals they restricted teams to, and the roars they conjured from fans across the country will all be a part of the legacy of this Indian team.
As they stand on the brink of a new challenge in the form of the 2024 T20 World Cup with a new look and a fresh-faced team, Indian cricket is once again presented with the opportunity to prove themselves to be “good enough”
But if, somehow, fine margins dictate that the trophy is not in our fate, are we too once again lamenting the fact that we are simply not good enough?
I think not, because what is good enough is a batsman that has scored 80 centuries and blazed a trail across world cricket. What is good enough is a bowler who is perhaps the most talented all-format magician the game has ever seen. What is good enough is a team and country that never waiver even after 11 years of heartbreak. A team and country that continues to believe because we all want to be good enough.
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