Things about the Champions Trophy Final That Indians Know is True, But won’t Accept

Some might say, it is just a game. But this loss in a “game” felt personal. It felt as bad as a breakup or losing tons of your hard earned money.
I do not follow cricket religiously, but I cannot resist the allure of an ICC event. ICC events are international events where India is competing against the rest of the world. Even more captivating is a India V Pakistan encounter




India has had an upper hand on Pakistan since the past few years, but the rather unknown Paki cricket team broke a billion Indian hearts when they defeated us – their arch rivals in the finals of an ICC event.
It took me days to recover from the defeat.
The Opinionated Indian lists out the things we Indians know is true, but will refuse to admit.
1) Indian bowling was indisciplined. Indians gave away 63 runs as extras. Who can forget the Fakhar Zaman no ball by Bumrah! In fact the Indian team was equally indisciplined against Bangladesh, but since they won that one no questions were asked.
2) Although the loss against Sri Lanka after setting a 300+ total must be weighing on Kohli’s mind when he chose to bowl first, even he must admit that choosing to not bat first in the finals was a bad decision. Chasing a huge score during the initial rounds is one thing, but chasing a 300+ total in the finals is a totally different ball game altogether.
3)Considering Kohli’s record in all major tournament finals, we knew Kohli would get out early. He needs to stop choking & start rising to the occasion.
4) Although we love MS Dhoni & what he has done for the country, it’s high time he improves his batting or is dropped from the team. We can’t carry a burden like him, if we want to realize our dream of winning the next World Cup. Pant will be a good replacement.
5) Choosing Ashwin & Jadeja over Umesh Yadav & Shami was a blunder. Isn’t it obvious that Pakistan being an Asian country is adept at playing spin well? At least one among Shami & Yadav should have been picked
6)Why did Kohli let Ashwin complete his 10 overs, when he was getting whacked by Zaman?
7) Why wasn’t Yuvraj asked to bowl?
8) Jadeja needs to be dropped from the team. He neither bowls well nor does he bat well. What is his role in the team exactly?
9) Indian cricket team is not allowed to lose to Pakistan. Period! They would rather lose to Bangaldesh or any other lowly time, to avoid losing to Pakistan, but another loss to Pakistan is intolerable.
10) We just can’t wait to avenge this defeat. Hope we get to beat them in the finals of another ICC event soon!
11) India is fast gaining a reputation for choking in the final stages of major tournaments. We need to overcome this.
12) The Kumble-Kohli squabble did affect us adversely.