The day the whole nation cried.

19th November, 2023

The saddest day of this decade for every Indian soul. It is heart-wrenching to see your team dominate the tournament and then have a loss handed out to them. Well, some things are just not written in the stars.

I’d not like to blame names for this loss, but there is a story I’d love to share.

Team sports, be it football or cricket, are collective efforts. It is rarely the case that we see a single man change the shape and size of the match.

On 19th December 2022, we witnessed Messi lift the World Cup and complete his legacy. It was certainly not his best world performance as one of the greatest players to have played the game, but his team had laid down their lives for him. It was a group effort not to win the World Cup for themselves but for their idol, their God.

On 2nd April 2011, Sachin Tendulkar lifted the World Cup to end his legacy in the best fashion possible and that was also made possible by the unbelievable performances of his teammates who were also, playing to win for their idol, their God.

Ironically, Kohli was also present there, carrying the master blaster on his shoulders, and proud to have done it for his childhood hero.

Collective glory supersedes personal glory every time and such moments of magic prompted memorably selfless performances for Sachin and Messi which have immortalised these men.

From the bottom of his heart, Kohli wished that someday he would come to a point in this career where he would be worthy of such a performance from his teammates.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t written in his stars.