A Farewell to Country

Pete Lalor on the T20WC Final

When the win was at hand, snatched late and forcefully from the grasp of South Africans _ who some will say choked but in truth were strangled - Virat Kohli pushed his arms toward the air in elation.

It was a relatively modest gesture. As close as you get to a private moment with hundreds of millions watching.

When it was done his emotion told the story. This was his last T20 match for India and is that country’s first ICC trophy for over a decade. His first in this format.

A few days earlier Yuvraj Singh revealed his class with a public message to David Warner, the Australian batsman who had slipped out the tournament and the international game before the finals.

“No one likes a quiet goodbye, but that’s the game of life mate,” he wrote. “ Well done on an incredible career. From smashing boundaries on the park to nailing Bollywood moves and dialogues, you’ve done it all in true #Warner style.

“A feared batsman, a lively teammate and a true entertainer on and off the field.

“It was a pleasure sharing the dressing room with you buddy. Go well legend and enjoy your well-deserved time off with the lovely family.”

Not done with the hashtag sentiments he signed off “#ThankYouDavidWarner.”

Warner and the Australians had watched their World Cup end last week, their fate in someone else’s hands, their minds already wandering toward airports and family. It was “a scramble to get everyone out of the place,” he said.

Warner flew to New York alone, spending a long lay over on Long Island, not far from where the ICC had constructed its temporary 34,000 seat stadium.

Presumably it was already deconstructed.

The next day Warner went to a cheap bungalow bar on Rockaway Beach in the Jamaican district. Cradling a Corona, he’d pondered the fact an international career that had started in such spectacular fashion with that T20 against the South Africans had finally come to an end.

The only Australian to have played 100 games in every format, his one day and Test careers had come to an end some months earlier. The ODI chapter in glory and the T20 leg somewhat of a let down, the last Test a fitting send off.

“Was kind of cool to sit by myself and reflect and have a beer,” Warner said.

If there was anything to be learned from Yuvi’s public post it was that Warner’s observation that he was more respected in India than Australia is mostly true. He’d sensed that, faced that audience and fed that crowd. They’d embraced him without reservation and he performed for them in their franchises and on their social media feeds.

The next we saw of Warner he was cradling one of his girls in his arms at Mascot airport, her welcoming balloon floating above his head.

India won the World Cup. You probably heard. Brilliant game. South Africa had it in the bag, you could hear it in Ravi Shastri’s tightened voice as the final stage approached; the South Africans 4-150 at the final turn when India had been just 4-119. The equation 30 from 30 like some ESPN documentary series.

Rohit Sharma was the worried man from the Johnny Cash song, forced to turn to his ace Jasprit Bumrah earlier than he’d planned, papa was a worried man.

Having failed to choke themselves to that point South Africa needed assistance.

The bowler of the tournament obliged, sending down an over that cost just four runs. To that point Heinrich Klaasen had been clubbing the ball out of the stadium at will.

Catches and fielding are critical in the Tik Tok format. Australia had let themselves down in that area and some self examination on that topic is needed.

Suryakumar Yadav’s catch of David Miller in the final over involved a sprint along the boundary’s tightrope and a juggle either side of it. One of the best you will see in such context and a fitting way to advance to World Cup glory.

India had not won a T20 World Cup since November 2007. That was a match heard around the world, not just because they had beaten Pakistan, but because an inexperienced side had got there almost by accident - and in doing so converted a country to a format which until that time it’s board had viewed with contempt.

Within a year the IPL was up and running and the cricket world began to shift on its axis. Now that India had begun to take the game seriously it became more difficult to repeat the feat Dhoni’s men had.

Kohli, who had struggled this tournament but started to show signs in the lead up to the final, was presented player of the match for his half century.

“This was my last T20 World Cup and this is exactly what we wanted to achieve," Kohli said after the seven run victory.

“This is an amazing game, I was telling Rohit today when we went out to bat that one day you feel like you can't get a run, and then you come out and things happen. God is great. I bow my head in gratitude. I'm really grateful was able to get the job done for the team when it mattered the most.

"This is my last T20 game playing for India, my last World Cup I was going to play.

"I wanted to make the most of it. And this was our aim. We wanted to win an ICC tournament, we wanted to lift the cup. As I said, it was the occasion that helped me put my head down and respect the situation rather than trying to force things out there, and play the game my team wanted me to play.

"Yes, I have (retired). This was an open secret, it was not something that I was not going to announce if we'd lost. This was going to be my last T20 World Cup playing for India, it's time for the next generation to take over. Two-year cycle, there are some amazing players playing in India, they're going to take the team forward in the T20 format, and do wonders as we've seen them do in the IPL. I've no doubts they'll keep the flag waving high, and really take this team further from here now.

“It's time for the next generation to take over. Two-year cycle, there are some amazing players playing in India, they're going to take the team forward in the T20 format, and do wonders as we've seen them do in the IPL. I've no doubts they'll keep the flag waving high, and really take this team further from here now."

Later, Rohit Sharma, also threw his hat out of the ring.

“This was my last [T20I] game as well," the skipper said. "No better time to say goodbye to this format. I've loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup.

"I wanted this badly. Very hard to put in words. It was a very emotional moment for me. I was very desperate for this title in my life. Happy that we eventually crossed the line."

PS: Did anyone see Jay Shah on the podium at the presentation?

Where’s Damien Martyn when you need him?