HYDERABAD: It’s been a week since India won the World Cup, yet every time I see the reel of Suryakumar Yadav’s catch, I look for someone to give a high five to. It was one of the best finals, and India finished the match full of skill, intent, and confidence. But the same cannot be said about the fans watching the final. Our emotions were tossed up and down like a rumali roti before going into the tandoor.
We chose to bat, and when we scored 23 runs in the first nine balls, my friend, without even looking at his crystal ball, said today India will score 250. At the end of the second over, when we were 23-2, the same guy was sharpening his knife to find out who selected Rishabh Pant.
And then we lost the third wicket, and that’s when my friend pointed the knife at himself and started wondering why he chose to watch this wretched sport. It was a new TV, and the EMIs were still running, or else I would have seen the rest of the match on my mobile phone.
Kohli and Axar made quite a recovery after that, but now friend No. 2 tried to bury his tension by making jokes about how Kohli was playing a test match. For him, it was déja vu from November 19, 2023. He was worried about the run rate, which only worsened his heart rate. The ambulance was on its way, but King Kohli shifted gears, and we also asked the ambulance driver to put it in reverse gear.
India posted an ideal total, and it did look like we had a chance to win. But once ‘beaten’, twice shy — most of us were in no mood to ease our nerves and be entertained. We looked at each other like UPSC aspirants helplessly waiting for their results.
Bumrah and Arshdeep knocked down two wickets quickly, and my hopes were up again until my friend reminded me that even in the last final, we got two wickets in the beginning and yet we lost the cup.
“Oh ye of little faith,” I thought to myself and continued being positive until our local boy, Hyderguda Klassen, started batting like it was a Bengaluru pitch and not Barbados. My friend tried to salvage some joy by claiming that he told us so.
South Africa needed 30 off 30, and then even I lost faith. Like a newly turned atheist, I heavily criticised the religion cricket is, recounted all the finals India lost since 2003, and vowed to never watch another cricket match in my life.
What happened after that is etched in our memories until we lose a few more finals. But as I’m re-watching the highlights, I feel so embarrassed about all the moments I doubted the team and took a vow to be a blind bhakt, praising Team India day and night by resharing the victory posts of the unbeatable Indian cricket team.
The Why Junction
Sandesh Johnny
@johnnykasandesh
(This comedian is here to tell funny stories about Hyderabad)