It’s one of those ‘Blue Sundays’ for 1.35 billion Indians today. While blue is the colour of the soothing sky and the deep sea, it can also represent melancholy and sadness. Case in point: Pablo Picasso’s ‘blue period’ between 1901 and 1904, or closer home, our regular Monday blues. And in keeping with its character, blue can both represent zeal and suppress appetite!
As with the colour, so with the team. Were our very own Men in Blue who win far more than they lose through the year under the influence of this suppressant blue during the semi-final against England in the T20 World Cup? We will never know. But as England take on Pakistan in the World Cup final that we dearly wanted to be a part of, My Kolkata tries to keep the blues at bay by reminding ourselves of other heartbreaking defeats that the Indian cricket team suffered in tournaments… and survived to bring us joy.
1987 Reliance World Cup semi-final
We were pitted against England at the Wankhede Stadium. India won the toss and opted to field, which pundits believe was an error of judgement. England went on to score 254/6 in 50 overs — considered a decent score in those days. Graham Gooch swept his way to a ton (115 off 136 balls) and was supported by Mike Gatting (56 off 62). India started off well, but Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Navjyot Singh Sidhu got out early. A gritty 64 by Mohammad Azharuddin was not good enough. England won by 35 runs.
1996 World Cup semi-final
This match on March 13 will be remembered as one of the most ill-fated games in the history of the World Cup. Sri Lanka “won” as the crowd at the Eden Gardens went berserk, forcing an abandonment. Sri Lanka batted first and was reeling under pressure at 35 for 3. India could not take advantage of this and the Lankans went on to score 251 runs. As they say in cricket, ‘it was not our day’. Sri Lanka was destined to lift the World Cup (in Lahore, four days later) and Sanath Jayasuria (if young fans remember him) who was a bowler’s nightmare in that era, turned out to be a batsman’s nightmare in that day-night match. Only Sachin Tendulkar stood like a rock and managed 65 off 88. Cricket fans are still haunted by the crying face of Vinod Kambli.
2003 World Cup final
After losing the first match against the mighty Australians, Team India gathered itself and went on to win all the Super Six matches and reached the final in style. Tendulkar was in fine nick. The master blaster’s scores were as follows: 81 against Zimbabwe, 152 not out against Namibia and 98 against Pakistan. In the semis, India were up against a gritty Kenya. Captain Sourav Ganguly’s ton was timely and we stormed into the final. And then came March 23. Australia went on to score a scary 359 for 2. Ponting hit eight sixes! We ended as a distant second-best team after being bowled out for just 234 runs in 40 overs. The only silver lining was Virendra Sehwag’s 81 off 82 deliveries.
2016 T20 World Cup semi-final
The Men in Blue were tipped as favourites to win the T20 World Cup at home but West Indies proved to be a better team. Windies won the toss and sent India to bat on a belter of a wicket at the Wankhede Stadium. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane gave us a steady start with 62 in just 7.2 overs. After this, it was sheer aggression with the bat by Virat Kohli. He registered 89 from just 47 balls, with 11 fours and a six! India posted 192, a good score in a knockout match. Despite a poor start, the magic of Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell did the needful for the Windies.
2019 World Cup semi-final
With just one loss in the tournament (till then), a strong Team India took on a gritty New Zealand in the semi-final. Rain at Old Trafford meant the match was played over two days! New Zealand batted first and managed 239/8, riding the crest of a solid half-century by Ross Taylor. He scored 74 and Kane Williamson also came in handy with 67. Only Ravindra Jadeja and M.S. Dhoni put up a fight for India. While Jadeja scored 77, Dhoni made a decent 50 before a good throw from the deep Martin Guptill reached ‘home’ quicker than the veteran. India fell short by 18 runs.
