ODI MCWC 2023

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

be a sport.. ODI MCWC 2023.. How and when did India lose?

do you believe in superstition(s)?.. if you are a cricket fan, most probably you've answered in favor of the question.. If not or if you don't, this article is not for you.. so, feel free to close ❌ the tab..

now that you are continuing, you must already be aware of the most popular one from this list.. 'Sachin always used to put on his left pad first' - nobody knows 'why?', even he himself did not know.. but that's exactly the crux of superstitions: nobody knows 'why?'.. btw, this goes along in all the other sports too, but we'll restrict / personify the irrationality only to our religion 🏏..

to start with, let's go back to the era when India had only one batsman.. me and Anup (cousin brother) were watching a match, Sachin inching towards a century 💯, and when he (Anup) could not hold it in anymore, he (Sachin) got out.. his (Anup's) first reaction as he returned was a dejected and guilty face.. another one - remember a Test match when India were chasing 145 against Bangladesh (day 4) and were shattered to 56/5?.. later, India won.. how? you are a devotee enough to guess it right 👍..

in one of the TV shows, Radhika claimed herself to be the x-factor behind her husband's efforts behind the world record of most catches in a single Test match by a fielder (non-WK), which today also rules the Guinness book.. not just that, the same show, she had also said, it was her mistake when he (Ajinkya Rahane) got out on 98 in one of the IPL matches..

as funny and fussy all of this may / must sound, against what Sumedh (son) says, "there is no magic 🪄, everything that happens is a science", may be, there are some powers beyond that 'everything', which we will never / do not want to understand.. only thing we can potentially do is to identify the patterns and bet accordingly on a side having the higher probability (on their repetition).. 

interpreting the signals - did you watch the Diwali special 'Believe' program on India-Pakistan clash from T20I MCWC 2022?.. one of the statements Virat made, was, "when I got bowled out on a free-hit delivery (so, actually not-out), the ball could have travelled anywhere on the field.. but, it went deep, to the tallest member of the opposition, only and also the one limping.. we ran 3.. this was signal enough that we will not lose.."

now let's start with some of the happenings (patterns and signals) in the last month and a half.. also note, nothing of this is a retrospection..

ODI MCWC 2023

so far (before 2023), India had appeared in 3 ODI MCWC finals.. the pattern being, won - lost - won.. 'what comes next?' is probably the simplest 😁 of questions when it comes to identifying the pattern on the "logical reasoning" levels.. now that it's in the past, after today, 'what comes next?' should be another easy answer and since the time-period between all of these is reducing, this should happen in the next 4 years.. 1983 - (20) - 2003 - (8) - 2011 - (12) - 2023 - (4) - 2027.. unless some other pattern intercepts and overrules 🤞.. 

in 2011 edition, India were the first team to win a ODI MCWC final on a home soil.. next 2 editions observed the same 🔄.. this edition, scheduled to happen in India, 'a repeat' was never going to be a possibility.. obvious reason: India set a new trend in 2011 "in host country", which they were anyway expected to reset, by hosting it again..

2019 - NZ 🇳🇿 won the semis against IND and lost in the final..

2023 - IND won the semis against NZ to lose in the final..

India 🇮🇳 were very and exceptionally brilliant in their first 8.. always ruled the points table, bowling department was ruthless, batting department was clinical, fielders were always on top of the white sphere, craving for medals 🏅.. but then, and very particularly, they started to lose focus while playing their 9th, against NED and this was the turning point, rather those were the turning points in India's dream journey.. Rohit himself said, "we tried off side yorkers, which were not needed".. why indulge in unnecessary / irrelevant matters?.. and dude! why use 9 bowlers?

Rohit's concluding words
from post match presentation 

is all of the above not contradictory to what happened thereafter?.. in the next 2 knock-out matches, India bowled only 5 specialists.. and when they failed in taking timely wickets, should India not have tried the irregular bowlers, who picked-up a couple in NED 🇳🇱 match?.. in other words, why then try the options earlier?.. all that needed was, simply continue the pattern that was successfully tested so far and let the wishful affairs happen effortlessly..  

in the tournament, India won first 5 matches chasing and next 5 batting first.. so, logically and at least, the plan for 11th match should have been 'chase', especially given the fact that last 2 wins (NED and NZ) were not walk-in-the-park types, relatively.. now, nobody can control outcome of the flip of a coin 🪙.. but when Rohit said, "we would have batted first anyway", he went against the logic, and rest is history.. even Kamlesh (brother-in-law) had said in the morning, "to win, India must chase"..

till then, no team had bowled India all out.. not even once, in all of their 10 consecutive matches that they won, irrespective of batting first or second.. in the final, they even took it deep till the last delivery.. but then, Kuldeep was too lazy 🥱 and Siraj was inarguably angry-cum-disappointed that he (Kuldeep) did not even put enough efforts.. all-out = pattern break..

one more - though a low score, India should have been positive about having made 11 more runs than the ENG 🇬🇧 match, which they ended-up winning by 100 runs.. alas, Shami bowled ahead of Siraj, against the followed / established norms.. was that needed?..

Final nail in the coffin ⚰️

where did India actually lose it all? I remember once Niyant had said, काही अघटित घडायला १ सेकंद पुरेसा आहे, so we should not risk it (some plan during college days).. similarly, one small expression of negligence / mockery / dignity can uncreate / wash-off all the advantage anybody has / earned.. in the context of this World Cup, Kohli and his wife literally mocked 😆 when in-form Edwards was caught behind.. that was too much / not required, imho.. as you sow, so shall you reap.. at times, excitement, aggression and sledging are necessary.. all fine, ok and my pleasure types.. but not crossing the thin line of being mockingly arrogant about it is also important.. be a sport

all of the stated above are just some interpretations of limited observations (from my side) during just concluded ODI World Cup 🏆 where India lost in the final.. sure, a lot more happened for which we all should be proud 👏 of India Cricket Team, especially when they were on top of everything till the first 8 matches and first innings of the 9th = 8.5 matches..

similarly, and otherwise too - in every aspect of the life, it's important to identify patterns and signals.. and more important is to bet on the higher probability side.. irrespective of having / not understood the science / logic behind.. sometimes, that's the only option 😇.. you may not always win but the chances are better than the flip of a coin..