"Rohit Sharma is probably the unluckiest man in the world" said Travis Head after playing one of, if not the most important knocks ever in a World Cup final while chasing.

A very significant part of me was shattered that night. I've been following this team for over a decade now, and the past two months have been nothing short of brilliance. Little did I know that we would win 10 World Cup matches on the trot, which even included the mighty Semi-Final. We all believed that the knockout jinx was finally broken.

The way Rohit Sharma batted throughout the tournament, his willingness to make an impact right from ball one, and his intent to step out and hit the best bowler of the opposition team out of the ground were nothing short of a spectacle. Virat Kohli went on to hit milestone after milestone, and our middle order gave us enough reason to be happier. We had the best bowling unit even after the exclusion of an all-rounder.

Those first 10 overs were as suffocating as cricket can get. But once that had been dealt with, the only noise that came from the biggest stadium in the world was the ball pinging off the Australian bats and heading to the boundary.

I was there, and I witnessed all this action unfold in front of me. To be on the ground for an India game is extraordinary. The reaction to every boundary scored and every wicket taken was an event in itself. The wicket of Warner right at the start of the inning was as loud as anything I can remember. And rightfully, when things didn't go right, the silence was deafening, which just added to the drama. It was either celebrating success, waving flags and screaming or just sheer silence and head in hands; nothing in between.

I'm sure we will win the World Cup somewhere down the line in years to come, but it isn't going to be the same connection as we had with this team; it's truly the end of an era for us fans. Luck, the law of averages, and nerves combined to put us on the losing side.

I still can't process that we couldn't lift the trophy even after playing the best cricket in the tournament. This Indian team is perhaps the very best that has been put on the park.

Let's not forget we've gone 10-1 in this World Cup, and people will only be talking about the one.

That's championship cricket.

Every dream story doesn't have a happy ending, after all.

The wait continues...

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