And may the ghosts of November 19, 2023, lay easy now.
India vs Australia games are nothing short of award-winning documentaries. Human resilience, brilliance, miracle wins, heart-shattering losses – you experience the gamut of human emotions and the dates, years, venues, scores, conversation associated with these games acquire landmark status. The 1998 Sharjah Desert Storm, the 2001 Kolkata Test, the 2003 World Cup final, Harmanpreet’s 171* in the World Cup semi-final, the Gabba Fortress breach of 2021, the silencing of more than a million people in the Narendra Modi Stadium in the 2023 World Cup final on November 19.
Why did we need to mention all these dates for a Super 8 game between India vs Australia? Ask any Indian cricket team fan and they will confirm that they watched this game with this baggage and with the last hurt heavy on their hearts. No ICT fan could afford another loss to the Aussies after the 2023 World Cup final; so many of my peers told me they’d probably take a break from cricket. I had kept my therapist on standby, for the same.
Rohit Sharma is thankfully not like any of us. And if he felt any nerves on the day of the match, they were swung away the moment his arms moved in now rehearsed, poetic fashion to pull the ball out of the ground and to pull the fear out of Indian fans’ hearts. Batting first on a windy day, the Indian skipper decimated the Australian bowling attack by never letting them settle. Inside-out lofts, pulls, heaves, Rohit walked out to make a statement in the only way he can – fearlessly. 6,6,4,6, 0, 1w, 6 – Starc’s most expensive over at the hands of Rohit, the very next over after Kohli lost his wicket in the 2nd over. Rohit was dismissed for 92 (41) after inflicting severe damage and Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya kept the carnage going, putting up 205 in the 20 overs.
The only wicket that truly mattered if the demons had to be stayed was that of Travis Head’s. And every minute he stayed on the crease as he brought up a fifty felt as though this would be yet another nail in the coffin for the Indians. Head and Marsh put up 65 in the Powerplay and India was looking for that one piece of luck to turn the tide or at the very least, stem the flow. And Axar Patel delivered that by leaping and grabbing a ball that was meant to go for a six off Marsh’s bat. Only the brave stay on long enough to know if the story changes. Axar was brave and the story changed for India.
Kuldeep Yadav entered and kept things tight, dismissing Maxwell and in poetic fashion it had to be
c Rohit b Bumrah to get Head walking back to the pavilion. Travis Head caught India’s hopes when he latched onto a brilliant catch to dismiss Rohit on November 19 and on June 24, 2024, the dues were paid.
Rohit and his brave men stand two steps away from that elusive trophy.
Credit: Gurnam & Namrta
