'Sport Doesn’t Always...': Sania Mirza Reacts To India's 2023 Cricket World Cup Campaign

Former Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has voiced her praise for the Indian Cricket Team after their ‘amazing’ campaign at the ODI World Cup 2023.

India were unable to overcome their last hurdle in Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19, losing their second-ever final in the competition’s history. Despite their heartbreaking loss, India has received phenomenal support from their fans for a historic run in the tournament.

Mirza also happened to be one such fan on this occasion, expressing her thoughts on the World Cup on X. “Sport doesn’t always have fairytale endings. The ‘almost perfect World Cup’ wasn’t to be…but so much to be proud of our team and boys. Each one of you is truly amazing. Congratulations to Australia, you were the better team today. @BCCI,” she wrote in her post.

Many fans have reacted to the post by the former tennis superstar. One of them agreed with her statement and added, “Tough luck, Champs. You’re still our heroes.”

Another reply on the post read, “Well played India. You were amazing throughout the tournament.”

In another comment, a fan wrote, “It’s really tough to be a sportsperson. Proud of being an Indian. Well played #MenInBlue. Just it was not our day.”

“Absolutely…India played superbly…Congratulations team India…for entertaining us…Thanks a lot…keep rocking,” added a fan.

One fan talked more about the sporting spirit and said, “Winning and losing is a part of the game, but hearty congratulations to our Indian cricket team for winning the hearts of crores of Indians by playing like champions. The whole of India is proud of all you players.”

Heading into the final, India were in red-hot form with 10 successive wins in the bag. Up until the final, the Men in Blue managed to beat every single team they faced in the group stage of the Cricket World Cup 2023, including Australia. They won nine games in the groups before taking down New Zealand in the semi-finals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Despite the good run, the hosts came up short of taking the final victory against the Aussies at Ahmedabad.

India lost the toss and found themselves on the batting side in the first innings of the World Cup final. They were off to a good start, thanks to an impressive knock from Rohit Sharma but the hosts kept losing wickets and were soon defending a mere 240-run scoreline. In the second half, Indian bowlers were able to create a ruckus early by scalping three Australian batters. However, Travis Head anchored the innings for his side and scored a match-winning century for Australia. Thanks to his heroics the Aussies were able to beat India by six wickets, winning their sixth ODI World Cup in cricket history.