Cricket magnifies the joy in the City of Joy. And with the stadium illuminated in World Cup colours, it seems to have lit up the soul of Kolkata.
It was a performance wrapped in authority and flair, one that re-instated the belief that they can remain T20 World Cup champions.
After a big loss, teams often give excuses instead of honestly admitting they played badly.
Batters launched balls so high into the sky that they looked like rockets taking off from the centre square.
It is said that in Chennai, fans do not watch cricket -- they analyse and debate it and even outthink the experts. Cricket here is savoured like their favourite dish -- a hot bowl of rasam.
To witness over 100,000 people sitting in stunned silence is not a sight one can forget easily.
It takes a lot of mental strength to play in front of nearly 100,000 people in Ahmedabad. Even the bravest can succumb to the tension.
What Abhishek should understand is that what defines a good cricketer is not the duck, but how he responds to it and overcomes it.
The sight of the Tricolour fluttering in the stands sharpens the resolve of the players. It feels as though the flag has been stitched out of the hopes and heartbeat of Indian fans.
Shivam Dube: 'I worked really hard, but there is something called support that is given by Surya and Gautam. They have given me a free hand. So I go and hit because they trust me a lot.'
You don't just play here -- you must dare to play here because the sound from the stands crashes onto the field, and often the cheer comes back to the players like waves.
From tears in the stands to songs in the airport, the India-Pakistan rivalry delivered agony and ecstasy in equal measure.
'Isn't it silly to call India-Pakistan cricket's greatest rivalry when Pakistan has won only once out of the last eight T20 World Cup encounters?'
In Sri Lanka, an India-Pakistan game becomes more than cricket. There will be only one silent wish: May cricket live long.
Beyond the boundaries drawn on maps, beyond the noise of rivalry, beyond wins and losses, friendship has found a way to endure, to grow, and to quietly prove that some connections are stronger than borders.
A shortened game will be like a sprint where the risk element will be high. Who will win when emotion meets execution remains to be seen. K R Nayar reports from Colombo.
Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan are representatives of a new generation, unfazed by pace, bounce, or any bowler.
The T20 format is built on speed and the ability to think on one's toes, but a Super Over finish is like a diamond that will sparkle forever, points out K R Nayar.
In this rivalry, numbers fade and national pride takes centre stage.
A lesson to be learned from this incident is participation in an event is the real exhibition of power, and winning matches elevates its credibility, observes K R Nayar.
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