New Delhi, March 8 -- We have been here before. India are through to the final of a World Cup. The opponent is from the Southern Hemisphere. The India captain plays for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The match is being played at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad and the nation is in a frenzy.

And to be fair, neither this team nor its fans have forgotten the hurt of the 2023 ODI World Cup final when Australia skipper Pat Cummins had said he wanted to silence the crowd on the eve of the game and proceeded to do just that on match day.

That silence doesn't haunt this India team. But it certainly serves to inspire them. When asked, even as early as November 2025, which team he would like to face in a hypothetical ...