India, Feb. 24 -- A heartbreak in Ahmedabad on Sunday felt like deja vu for the thousands who had packed the Narendra Modi Stadium, and for Suryakumar Yadav. The look of despair after his dismissal to Corbin Bosch off the first ball of the 10th over said it all, before Keshav Maharaj drove the final nail into the coffin with a triple strike in the 15th. For the India captain, the sense of deja vu ran deeper. At the same venue on November 19, 2023, he had fallen for the identical score of 18 in the ODI World Cup final defeat to Australia.

That loss triggered a period of self-reflection for the Indian team, which culminated in an unbeaten run across the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. Now, with the streak snapped and Indi...