Star India batsman KL Rahul said India’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand, especially after a near-perfect show in the group stages, continues to haunt him and his teammates.
In a chat show, The Mind Behind, Rahul said if he was given a chance to change the result of any one match in the past, it would be the 2019 World Cup semi-final.
“It has to be the World Cup semi-final. I think most of us are still not over that loss, it is still haunts us sometimes,” Rahul said. “I can’t imagine what the senior players must have felt, but you know, in a World Cup it just becomes even harder knowing that we played so well in the entire tournament. I still wake up to that nightmare sometimes.”
India were perhaps the most dominant side in the group stages of the 2019 World Cup, winning each of their matches except the one against hosts England. The Virat Kohli-led side was the favourite going into the semi-final against eventual runner-up New Zealand but lost the contest by 18 runs following a shocking top-order collapse.
Just like other Indian cricketers, Rahul too is currently enjoying a rare break from the game because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Let me talk about myself. I’ve just been sitting and doing some homework. I’ve been watching some videos from the past and taking notes of the things I was doing right and where I could improve,” Rahul said.