New Delhi, Nov. 19 -- On the night of November 18 two years ago, a billion Indian cricket fans went to sleep not just believing but knowing that India would lift the 2023 World Cup at home. They imagined crackers lighting up the sky, a sea of blue flooding India Gate, and a Monday that would feel anything but blue. They pictured revenge for 2003, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma holding the trophy together, and the long wait for an ICC title finally ending. A World Cup win at home after 12 long years felt inevitable.

Sadly, none of it came to pass. Sport can be cruel, and fate often chooses the biggest stage to drive that lesson home. For ten straight matches, India outplayed, overwhelmed, and dismantled every opponent, only to falter at the...