Team India was trounced by Team Australia in Sunday's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match. When the tournament started, Australia was not looking that good. Many hoped that it would not even reach the Semi-Final stage. The team scripted a turnaround and defeated India with ease in a shocking manner.
How are the Indians processing this heart-wrenching World Cup loss? After all, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of the biggest cricketing legends of our time, won't be playing another World Cup. This was their last chance to win the Cup.
Social media posts suggest that Indians who are older than 30 are not as hurt today as they were when India was crushed by Australia in the 2003 World Cup Final. Sachin Tendulkar was gone in the first over. The defeat sent Indian fans into a state of depression for many days.
Today, the mental state of those who were emotionally invested in the 2003 match is not that bad. "Why does it not feel as bad as 2003? The first reason is that we are older. The second reason is that we have more distractions than cricket. And the third reason is that there is a lot more cricket now due to T20s," writes Akshay Alladi, a Twitter user.
On the other hand, @ravithinkz believes that we are not as sad today as we were in 2003 because we already had 2003. "Otherwise, today's loss is much worse. The sole reason is that if both teams were to play a 5-match series now, India would win it 4-1. In 2003, it would have been the other way around," he analyzes. True that, twenty years ago, Australia was the best cricketing nation. Today, India is the best. Yet, we had a bad day and we lost a historic opportunity to lift the Cup.
Whatever it is, those in their 30s and 40s have seen it all. "Have been following Indian World Cup campaigns since 1996. That Kambli meltdown (after India lost terribly to Sri Lanka in the Semi-Final match). The 2003 final (it still hurts the most). The dip of 2007, the highs of 2011. Heartbreak of 2019. And now this. Everything you will find wrong with this match, has proved to be good in the previous 10 matches. Not really a heartbreak, just a bad aftertaste," writes Gabbbar Singh.
