Bade Sapne

◇ Part 1 ◇

Vira's POV

"Jaldi, jaldi! Match shuru ho rahi hai!"

"Yaar, what's the rush? Abhi das (10) minute baki hai."

"Haan, lekin Ishan aa raha hai. Mujhe usko dekhna hai!"

MI vs GT. The most anticipated match of the current IPL season, one fans had been waiting over a week for. The IPL was every Indian fan's remedy for the heartbreak from the World Cup. One where we could watch Indian players lift the cup.

Australia had snatched it from us and had left the hearts of the whole country aching for an ICC trophy. I still remember that day.

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Flashback

Shubman Gill- 4(7)
Rohit Sharma- 47(31)
Shreyas Iyer- 4(3)
Virat Kohli- 54(63)
Ravindra Jadeja- 9(7)
KL Rahul- 66(107)
Suryakumar Yadav- 18(28)
Mohammed Shami- 6(10)
Jasprit Bumrah- 1(3)
Kuldeep Yadav- 10(18)
Mohammed Siraj- 9(8)

Final score- 240

To any other person, seeing these numbers would have meant nothing. But to an Indian fan, these numbers added another heartbreak to their lives. The third one in 12 years.

A team that had won 10 of 10 matches, battling the odds relentlessly, fighting for hours at a time on the field, baking in the fierce Indian afternoon sun. The team everyone believed could win, had it in them to lift the World Cup for their country for the third time.

But after a nail-biting first innings, all the pressure had been bestowed on the bowlers. World-class bowlers, with top economies, perfect wicket-taking options for the captain. They'd been the ones to spice up India's fielding innings throughout the tournament.

Years ago, one would love to watch Indian batting. The 2023 ODI World Cup brought about a whole new perspective on the bowling aspect of the game. For me, it became the most exciting part of the match.

The adrenaline rush felt by every Indian fan when the bails glowed red, a stark contrast to the green and yellow pitch, making the crowd erupt into applause and cheer for the bowler.

The expectant nature of every LBW, everyone hoping for the batsman to walk off after seeing the words OUT displayed in big red letters on the screen. The hope that the ball had edged the bat and flown into the keeper's gloves.

But, alas. There had been no such adrenaline rushes, nor even a chance for an LBW or caught behind. And so, the pressure of such a big match brought the ceiling crashing down, and the fiery hope of winning the World Cup died out a little more with each boundary they hit.

Eventually, the pitch was flooded with yellow, and the Australian team ran onto the field after winning the World Cup for the sixth time. The eyes of every Indian were filled with tears, watching KL Rahul sink to the ground in despair, tears rolling down Rohit and Siraj's cheeks, and the pained smile of Bumrah as he comforted a shaking Siraj.

The defeat hurt so much, but seeing tears in the players' eyes hurt even more. This was a team who'd been smiling, joking around, enjoying themselves the whole tournament. A team that resembled not only best friends but brothers, family.

That match had hit home. The T20 series we won against Australia just a few days afterwards came more as a numbing agent than sweet revenge. The pain of that World Cup wasn't going to leave easily.
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The captains walked onto the pitch for the toss. In the grand scheme of things, I was a diehard RCB fan. I was only here for Ishan Kishan. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't ever find me watching an MI match.