CHAMPIONS, NONETHELESS

Heartbroken Team India win a billion hearts with a stellar showing through the World Cup but gritty Australia take home a historic sixth crown

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When Brian Lara bid an emotional farewell at home in the 2007 World Cup, he on signed off by asking a packed Barbados crowd just one question. "Did I entertain you?" If India's players pose that question, they should get a raucously affirmative response. Maybe not immediately, for Indian audiences tend to be fickle and sentimental. And the instant aftermath of a World Cup final defeat-Australia beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad on Sunday - is a bitter pill to swallow. Especially when India's quest for an ICC title has been futile since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Over the past six weeks, however, India were not just undefeated for 10 matches but played a brand of cricket that captivated the common fan. It filled up large stadiums, even one as gigantic as the Narendra Modi Stadium. Which is why the nearly 100,000 people who flocked to the Motera on Sunday, and the hundreds of millions who watched with rapt attention on television screens and mobile phones were brimming with hope.