It was the perfect setting, a day that felt hand-picked by fate, a scene straight out of a Bollywood script. On November 19, 2023, India woke up to bright sunshine and skies painted in hopeful shades of blue. Throughout the nation, the air trembled with anticipation. One chant rang out like a heartbeat in the streets: “India! India! India!”
All roads converged to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, now the beating heart of a billion dreams. The government announced special trains that carried oceans of blue fans across the country, each convinced they were on their way to witness history. The train from Bombay was overflowing with passion, every seat occupied, every corridor alive with predictions, prayers and nervous excitement.
Imagination took over. The fans’ eyes shone with hope. Kohli raising his bat to the heavens, Rohit lifting the trophy, fireworks lighting up the night sky, everything was so close we could almost touch it.
“Will Kohli get his century? Will Rohit unleash a bloodbath? Will Shami dismantle Australia again?” The questions kept everyone up all night as endless debates echoed through every compartment. Hearts were beating like war drums at dawn as we entered Ahmedabad. The metro to the stadium felt like a pilgrimage, packed to the brim, hundreds crammed into every station and almost no breathing space left.
SIGNS of impending DISASTER
The streets lay deserted. India stood still and waited for glory. A sea of blue poured into the stadium, their thunderous chants loud enough to put even the largest sound systems to shame.
In the middle of the huge crowd stood a fan wearing India’s World Cup 2003 jersey. No one wants to remember how that night ended, but people came to bury those ghosts. One poster captured the mood perfectly, boldly proclaiming that this was the day India would avenge the heartbreaks of 2003 and 2015.
However, seeing the 2003 jersey brought back those scary memories and I immediately had some scary feelings for the rest of the day. As we fought our way through the frenzy outside the gates, we slid into our seats. At the start of this momentous event, the Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran aerobatic team left everyone mesmerized with its mesmerizing air show.
The toss was drawn and Australia captain Pat Cummins invited India to bat first, a decision that left many in the stadium laughing, almost as if the Aussies had dug their own grave. None of us knew how cruel the scenario would become.
Arguments broke out in the washroom like mini-debates on live television. “280 is enough,” someone declared. “No, 320,” I insisted. Soon after, both teams lined up for the national anthems. The voices in the stadium were through the roof when the Indian national anthem blared over the loudspeakers.
FIRE START, CRUSHING TWIST
India captain Rohit Sharma walked out to open the innings along with Shubman Gill, with a wild Mitchell Starc waiting to unleash hell with the new ball. Everyone remembered the 2015 World Cup final when the Aussie pacer smashed Brendon McCullum’s stumps to set up the game for his team.
Starc was right again as he troubled Rohit on several occasions in a busy first match as the Indian skipper opted to be uncharacteristically cautious against him. However, Rohit was back to his best in no time and unleashed his havoc on the Australian attack.
Every boundary of his blade brought India closer to the collective dream of billions and Rohit’s beloved World Cup trophy. Gill fell early but spirits remained high as Virat Kohli departed having enjoyed a record tournament.
For a few minutes everything seemed perfect, as if the gods had written it and it was destined to happen. At one end Rohit led the Aussie onslaught of sweepers while at the other Kohli played his majestic strokes all over the ground and hit Mitchell Starc for a hat-trick of boundaries.
The crowd was at its loudest, their two heroes set the stage on fire and the dream of a World Cup was within reach. But then came the anticlimax. Rohit, who had taken off ten overs, went one shot too far against Glenn Maxwell and over-swim it high. At this point, Travis Head, the story’s unlikely villain, he made the catch of his life.
INCLUDED BY FATE, BY PRESSURE
And there it was, the first stunned silence in the stadium, as Pat Cummins had promised at the press conference the day before. In the very next over, Cummins took matters into his own hands and sent back to the pavilion the in-form Shreyas Iyer, a wicket which in hindsight proved to be the key to turning the match around.
As the wickets fell, all hopes once again rested on India’s savior Virat Kohli, who claimed his ninth fifty-plus score of the tournament. The crowd breathed easier and trusted the modern master to save India once again.
But even Kohli was betrayed by fate and succumbed to one of the most unfortunate dismissals of his career as Cummins silenced the crowd once again.
Henceforth, Ahmedabad could not find his voice. The pressure of the occasion got the better of India and they were bowled out for 240.
During the middle innings, there was a musical performance by renowned Bollywood composer Pritam where the Lehra Choir performed! Lehra do! was sung in unison by the packed crowd. Hope still lingered, fueled by India’s sensational bowling throughout the tournament.
Then came the moment that mattered. Jasprit Bumrah, with the new ball, was tasked with setting the tone. The opportunity came right off the first delivery but David Warner’s edge flew between the slips. The runs started flowing freely and every boundary added salt to the wounds of the Indian supporters.
Just when all seemed lost, the man with the golden arm, Mohammed Shami, removed Warner and brought the crowd back to life. However, the situation remained chaotic as the Australians continued to score at a brisk pace.
There was another glimmer of hope when Bumrah found Mitchell Marsh’s outside edge and later trapped Steve Smith in front. The stadium erupted with joy, the fans in the stands danced wildly. The World Cup felt like it was coming when Marnus Labuschagne stepped into the cauldron of noise and Kohli welcomed him like a general inviting the enemy to the battlefield.
THE SMILING KILLER WHO STEALED THE NIGHT
The stage was set; the dream was just a few wickets away. It felt imminent, another ball, another ending, the one after that. But it never came, because fairy tales often need a villain, and ours stood in the middle, smiling.
Travis Head, the smiling killer who looked unsure at the beginning, slowly began to crush the dream of a billion people with every stroke of the bat. Every boundary pierced the hearts of the Indian fans like a knife, slowly draining the life out of them.
At the end of his innings, 1,32,000 limp bodies applauded his Herculean effort to silence the home crowd and saluted the Australian captain for scripting India’s downfall to perfection. The fans started to leave the stadium even before the final ball, the result was all too clear and they could not watch the last rites of their dream. The ticket for the Word Cup final lay torn in front of the Narendra Modi Stadium
Inside the stadium, it looked like a nightmare unfolding in slow motion. Cummins and his warriors lifted the trophy from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Indian players quietly slipped away, hiding tears behind their caps.
An epic dream turned into a haunting memory – one that those present will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
– The end
Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
November 19, 2025
