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Journalism of Courage
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 didn’t culminate in a crowning glory for Team India as they had hoped after an inspiring run saw them win ten games in a row in the tournament.
The Rohit Sharma-led team were in the form of their life till they fell short at the final hurdle, losing to Australia by six wickets. On a slow and sluggish pitch, India was put into bat, and they managed to score 240, with Virat Kohli making 54 and K L Rahul scoring 66 after a quickfire cameo of 47 off 31 balls by Sharma.
However, Australia didn’t look troubled as they chased the modest total in 43 overs with six wickets in hand courtesy a tremendous century by opener Travis Head (137 off 120 balls) and an unbeaten fifty by Marnus Labuschagne (58 off 110 balls).
Mohammed Shami, who finished as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 scalps in just seven matches, took the crucial wicket of Australian opener David Warner in the final to finish with figures of 1 for 47 in seven overs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the World Cup final in Ahmedabad in the stadium named after him, paid a visit to the Indian dressing room following the team’s gruelling defeat.
Shami took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a photo alongside PM Modi from his visit to the dressing room. “Unfortunately yesterday was not our day. I would like to thank all Indians for supporting our team and me throughout the tournament. Thankful to PM @narendramodi for specially coming to the dressing room and raising our spirits. We will bounce back!” Shami wrote on X.
A video showing Modi interacting with the players in the dressing room is also doing the rounds on social media. Modi is heard consoling Sharma, Virat Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid after the heartbreaking defeat. He also interacted with Ravindra Jadeja in Gujarati and praised Shami for doing well in the tournament and pulled him closer to hug him. Modi also asked Jasprit Bumrah if he speaks Gujarati and he replied “a little”. He then requested the players to motivate each other and also invited them to Delhi to meet him.
PM Modi, alongside Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, handed over the World Cup trophy to Australia skipper Pat Cummins in the post-final ceremony.
