The pre-match talk ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup finals circled around whether the men in blue, led by Rohit Sharma, were the strongest Indian ODI team ever. No one bothered with headto-head comparisons between India and Australia; instead, the only match-ups that interested the pundits were 'India in 1983' vs 'India in 2011' vs 'India 2023'. The verdict was unanimous, with scales heavily tilted in favour of the current Indian bunch. But as soon as the dust settled and Australia were crowned six-time world champions, the question that popped up was: 'How will history remember India's class of 2023 after they dominated the tournament so thoroughly, only to fall short at the final hurdle?'
JASPRIT BUMRAH
THE RENEWABLE ROCKET
Jasprit Bumrah's return to international cricket happened just before the World Cup, so there were doubts about him being the same lethal force. However, the wily pacer showed that injuries have not caused him to lose a beat as he was at his imperious best through the course of the tournament-he took 20 wickets at an economy of 4.06 and an average of 18.65. It was not a surprise that he was part of the World Cup best XI team picked by the ICC
"Even if you ask me years later, I'll remember this World Cup for the domination and intimidation of this Indian team over every other team," says Robin Uthappa, member of India's 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team. "They made all of us Indians feel invincible. The past 45 days have been exceptional for Indian cricket." Such sentiments are rarely expressed in cricket-mad India, especially when the country has been starved for an ICC title for over a decade. Yet, this time, that's exactly how 'bleed-blue' faithfuls seem to have responded to India's loss in the finals-perhaps a testament to how good the men in blue were throughout the tournament and the joy fans experienced.
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The Game Changers
IN SPORTS, AS in life, highs and lows are part of the package. For the disappointment of the ODI World Cup final last November, there was the sterling victory in the T20 World Cup this June, a grand moment of redemption for many who were part of the earlier misadventure.
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