There was a small ray of hope when Sehwag and Dravid came together. We all live in hope. But then, what a shock treatment. India need these shocks, sometimes, to wake up from their slumber. But this was the shock of their lives. The World Cup is still on, and no Team India.

Team India just choked. It’s unbelievable. How could we surrender so meekly? Weren’t we supposed to have the best batting line-up?

So, when Sehwag and Dravid came apart, the captain had to watch the long procession back to the pavilion from the other end. Every Indian soul back home must have prayed hard for some miracle. Even when Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel had that little bit of last partnership, I was thinking of that unbeaten partnership of Derek Murray and Andy Roberts against Pakistan for 64 to pull the West Indies out of certain defeat in the 1975 World Cup.

Such things don’t happen to India. In fact, India have, many a time, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Where is the spirit?

When Robin Uthappa and Sourav Ganguly walked in, India had a target of just 255 runs, on a wicket which had dried and gone flatter. But nobody showed the determination to stay on, except Dravid. It was his flurry of fours off Malinga in one over that had raised the hopes of Indian fans just for a while.

Perhaps the turning point was Sachin’s getting out to Fernando, through the gate for a duck. That was a vital blow. India could not recover. The panic button was pressed. Whatever little chances India had went up in flames when Yuvraj was run out foolishly.

... contd.