It hurts the most the next day morning.

I had to take an early morning flight today and the alarm woke me up from a deep sleep at 4.25 am.

But the pain of being jolted awake was nothing compared to *that* moment – the moment when your memories do a quick recap of the previous day… and 8 hours of agony (with some ecstasy… but mostly agony) are scrunched up into one unbearably painful moment, when it all comes flooding back.

And your mind rages with if onlys.

If only we had won the toss. If only Rohit had not hit that shot. If only Head had not taken the catch. If only the first innings pitch was not so tough to bat on. If only there was no threat of dew… If only the groundsman had prepared a better pitch (I mean, c’mon – this pitch for a World Cup final?!!!)

But hidden deep inside these layers of hurt and disappointment, you’ll find two overwhelming emotions.

Pride. And Respect.

Pride and respect for a team that handily outperformed the best in the world for over a month across different venues and conditions.

Pride and respect for a captain who would have nursed the hurt of missing out on 2011 (and massively contributed to impressive yet unsuccessful campaigns of 2015 and 2019), but still led the team with tactical smarts and selfless, high-impact knocks game after game, right upto the end.

Pride and respect for perhaps one of the best bowling attacks in one-day cricket history.

Pride and respect for a set of luminous batsmen who put up their hands during various stages of the tournament. And fielders who gave it their all on the ground.

And pride and respect for a coach (and his staff) who, with his trademark grace and poise, orchestrated a stunning campaign with months of careful planning and preparation.

And yes, grudging respect for an opponent who has that elusive ‘big game nous’ and made the most of all the luck that came their way.

That feeling of hurt – it might never go away. But it’ll always be accompanied by pride and respect.

Team India – thank you for all the joy.

Photo by AaDil on Unsplash

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