These are photographs Indian cricket fans never thought they would see.
After India raced to the World Cup 2023 final with 10 consecutive victories including the first one against Australia in Chennai, the final match in Ahmedabad against the Aussies was expected to be a breeze, but as probably every Indian knows now, that was not to be.
And as the nation comes to terms with that heartbreak of November 19, 2023 comes these photographs of Australian Captain Pat Cummins and paceman Mitchell Starc posing with the World Cup at a photo-op.
The Age, the Melbourne daily newspaper, asked Cummins, 'On your deathbed, in 70 years' time, what is the moment you will think of from that final?'
'I think the Virat Kohli wicket,' Cummins replied. 'I was obviously very pumped. And then, we're in the huddle after that wicket, and Steve Smith says, "Boys, listen to the crowd for a second". And we just took a moment of pause, and it was as quiet as a library; 100,000 Indians there, and it was so quiet.'
'I'll savour that moment for a long time.'
