Despite Loss, Men In Blue Will Continue To Be A Potent Threat

The No. 4 spot continues to be a work in progress; the middle-order yet again failed to take India through.

- K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Minutes after New Zealand scripted a sensational triumph over India in the World Cup semifinal at Manchester’s Old Trafford on Wednesday, the customary hand-shakes between the rival units occurred. The victor’s camp muted its joy and the losers kept a lid on their emotions, it was a poignant moment in which mutual respect lingered.

The special bit was when Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli met. They shook hands, hugged and the New Zealand skipper put an arm around his Indian counterpart’s shoulder. Words were exchanged and it was one man understanding the anguish of the other.

Later Williamson said: “There is obviously a huge amount of respect for India and I certainly hope that their fans are very much behind them and respect that the game of cricket can be a tough one on a number of occasions.”

But once it sunk in that India, one of the pre-tournament favourites had crashed, Twitter and the media space wavered between the sighs of support and the sounds of knives being sharpened. The first part was essential but the second segment proved to be unedifying.