In the midst of a hushed arena, Virat Kohli stood, his gaze empty, lost in the vast expanse of the sky. The forlorn expression on his face betrayed a sense of betrayal. Anguish filled him as he puffed his cheeks and disheveled his hair with long, cold fingers. Impatiently awaiting the torment of receiving the player of the tournament plaque, a painful memento on this heart-wrenching night.
Even in the depths of despair, he remained the focal point of the crowd’s attention. Teary-eyed fans chanted his name, and sympathetic glances surrounded him from every corner of the stadium. Those gestures only intensified his agony. Hastily and coldly, he picked up the meaningless trophy, its value akin to a mere stone, and ascended the long stairway to the dressing room. The trophy dangled limply at his side as he sought solace in the anonymity of a dark corner, finally allowing himself to weep and succumb to the night that was and the night that never came to be.
The day and night had promised a perfect conclusion for a nearly flawless batsman in an almost faultless World Cup. However, it did not unfold that way. It was a pain only athletes could truly comprehend – years of physical and mental preparation obliterated in one fateful night. The sun would rise again, as Rahul Dravid noted in the press conference, drawing from his extensive experience of heartbreaks. Yet, the darkness would linger, bitterness would cling, and the scar would remain unhealed.
While the athlete in them would move forward, the human inside them might not. The defeat would haunt not only Kohli but also his 14 colleagues, the support staff, and a population of over one billion. However, for Kohli, it would be an even more tormenting experience. He was not just a player; he was his country’s driving force, hope, and dream.
Kohli scored three centuries en route to the final, becoming the greatest ODI batsman ever with 765 runs at an astonishing average of 95. Each innings was a testament to his seamless greatness, an expression of joy. Yet, one bad night marred the perfection, turning the most memorable tournament into the most disappointing one. The disbelief when Kohli edged an innocuous Pat Cummins delivery to the stumps conveyed his frustration. It was a day he desperately wanted to make his own but couldn’t.
If he were selfish, he could revel in personal success, but Kohli is not driven by numbers or personal glory; these are merely incidental achievements to the larger cause of winning accolades for his country. Kohli has tasted World Cup victory before, carrying Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders in 2011. However, the wait for ICC silverware after the 2013 Champions Trophy has teased and tormented him like an impish demon.
Despite personal success in white-ball tournaments, the agony of knockouts has piled up. Even if he had won all those tournaments, the recent misery would still crush him. Regardless, the missing blanks in the ICC tournament column won’t diminish the batsman and leader he is. Yet, a sense of imperfection would linger, akin to Sachin Tendulkar’s quest for a World Cup before turning 37. Kohli, two years younger, might be 39 when the next World Cup arrives. His moment may have passed, or not.
It’s hard to imagine Kohli fading into the twilight of his career. Instead, he may burn brightly for redemption, striving for a perfect ending. While his fitness and motivation may not be a concern, his reflexes could be. Kohli might speak of taking it year by year, series by series, using cliches like ‘four years is too far away.’ Regardless of the unfolding narrative, 2023 was Kohli’s World Cup, where he played the roles of both hero and tragic-hero.
#Cricket World Cup # Virat Kohli #tragic #betwins
