“Do you remember the last time you slept at 9 pm?” I do; it was on 10th Nov 2022.
India vs England T20 CWC semifinal match at Adelaide Oval, losing to England by 10 wickets. India dominated the league stage as usual but failed spectacularly in the knockout games, which occurred in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019, and that time as well. For the inner me searching for my second 2011/2007 moment, this loss shattered and ruined my entire day. I was in the void of the feeling of loss. Luckily, I was handled sufficiently by my senior. These are some of the days when you truly appreciate your seniors. And got some advice from him. Might be this advice only prepared me not to lose myself after those two defeats (WTC & CWC 2023).
But 14th July 2025 comes pretty close to shattering any cricket fan’s heart!
5 days of exciting cricket come down to the survival of Siraj and Jadeja. At nearly 2 hours remaining until stumps, Siraj gets out in the most unfortunate way. Soft defence of Bashir’s ball, spins backwards and after two more bounces makes contact with the stumps just enough to fall off the bails. There would’ve been innumerable times when bails have remained firmly in their places, but not today. Luck favoured England at last. India lost by just 22 runs after batting nearly 75 overs (450 balls), out of which Jadeja faced 181 (not out), Bumrah 54, and Siraj 30. Indian batters, eat this stat for dinner.
The match was beautifully poised at an equal score after the first two innings, and India were bowling exceptionally well. They shattered the stumps of 7 English batters and restricted the target to 193, but directionless batting by a few led India to this disastrous loss. Unwavering defence shown by Jadeja and his ability to build partnerships firstly with NKR, then Bumrah and Siraj could take us only to a narrow 22-run loss. Surely England deserved to win this match a little bit more than India did. Stokes’ bowling 10 10-over spell twice in a day, Bashir coming to bowl with a fractured hand and not losing morale till the last ball is bowled, showed some examples to understand the gravity of the efforts put in by the hosts.
As a cricket fan, I am elated to have witnessed these 5 days, ones which will go the storybooks for sure. Lord’s 2025 will surely find its place along with Kolkata 2001, Edgbaston 2005, Headingly 2019, Sydney 2021 & Gabba 2021. But as a fan of the Indian cricket team, I am in pain a little less than 10th November 2022. As I remember the words of my senior, “No pain is worthy enough to ruin your day if we are not the ones who are putting the effort”.
TEST CRICKET IS THE REAL WINNER HERE!
Sarthak's Musings 