World Cup Moments

I have been following the 2023 Cricket World Cup very closely (who hasn’t?), partly because it has been held in India, partly because it has been dominated by India, and truly because of being a cricket fan. Surprisingly though (for me, at least), this World Cup has not been as interesting in terms of closeness of games played as I thought it would be.

When the tournament started, I had thought that a lot of the games will be very close. The going assumption, then, was that England and South Africa were very good teams, and India and New Zealand weren’t that bad too. There was little to choose when you consider Australia and Pakistan, which on paper didn’t quite look as strong then, but were, in general, thought to be different animals when it came to World Cups. It was only Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which I had thought would not be able to compete much. And I had thought Afghanistan and Netherlands were going to be fillers at worst, and also-rans at best.

What a different picture has emerged, now that we are on the verge of another final?

England has been a disappointment, to say the least, and while South Africa did play to their potential, they ended up staying true to their reputation of being tentative in knockout games. And the same could be said of New Zealand too, despite their best efforts. Pakistan showed some spark, as usual, in bits and pieces, but that wasn’t enough. One can’t ride on luck all the time, I guess. And while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh met the low expectations from them, what a performance it has been from the minnows, Afghanistan and Netherlands!

And that leaves us with India and Australia. Both might have surprised themselves with the way their journey has been so far – one being more dominant than even their best fans expected, and the other fighting back from the brink that they might not have expected themselves to be in, in the first place.

So everything said and done, it has been a world cup with no single standout game as such. Nothing comes to mind. But there have been a bunch of standout moments, so to speak, a set of happenings, performances, turning points that come to mind when I look back. So, while we wait for the final, I decided to make a list of those world cup moments – the ones I remember the most.

KL Rahul’s innings in India’s first game versus Australia when he walked in at 2 for 3 (I think?). If not for his unbeaten 97, the story of India’s journey in the World Cup might well have been very different. Almost all the Indian top order batsmen scored centuries in the subsequent games, but I think the mental foundation of winning games was set with this knock.

Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi spinning a web in beating England. One could not help but support an underdog like the Afghans when one saw the spirit with which they took on the defending champions. The impact that this win had on their nation and its cricketers was evident, when they went on to, then, bag three more victories (and almost a fourth!).

Glen Maxwell 201*, fighting from the brink of defeat on one leg. The degree of disbelief on seeing that knock could only be compared, in my view, to Kapil Dev’s 175* from a different era. Not only for that particular game (both of which were won from the brink), but also for the impact that single knock might have had on the team’s self belief.

Mohammed Shami’s inclusion in the playing 11 when Hardik was ruled out of the team after three games. This was a chance happening, and while India missed Hardik’s services (who was replaced by Suryakumar on paper), his injury forced the selection of Shami, and stopped all experimentation with the Hardik/Shardul/Ashwin combination. And how he grabbed it with both hands!

Kohli’s 50th ODI Century. A knock that might not have impacted the game or the team as much, but for sheer magnitude of that achievement, that too coming in front of the Mumbai crowd with the Master watching it himself, this one was momentous.

And finally – a not so worth remembering but not something that will be forgotten type of moment. The Time-out of Angelo Matthews. Unfortunately, Shakib, for all his achievements as cricketer and captain, I think, made an error in judgement while pursuing this appeal for his team’s (mostly irrelevant) victory, without realizing how far he was going. He might be remembered, sadly, for this over everything else.

So those were the moments of the Cricket World Cup 2023 for me. We will wait for Sunday and see if this list remains as it is, or all of these are over-ridden by one great moment at the end of the Final.

PS: This article was written before the Final. It turns out that the one great moment that Indian fans were waiting for didn’t happen in the final. This list remains, sadly, unchanged., albeit with the grudging addition of Travis Head’s hundred after being three down.