India, March 8 -- India and New Zealand play later today in the T20 World Cup final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the same venue where Australia had silenced thousands of spectators more than two years ago by totally annihilating Rohit Sharma's men in the World Cup final. In fact, they had silenced the entire country.

On November 19, 2023, Ahmedabad was decked out like a bride to host its first major final, and the Indians were overwhelming favourites to win the contest, having been unbeaten in their previous matches. In their tournament opener, India had recovered from a precarious situation to beat Australia, and thereafter they were just relentless, making short work of opposition teams. There was no way India could lose the f...