Virat Kohli recently looked back at India’s tough loss in the 2019 ODI World Cup, calling it a “horrible hangover.” It was his first and only fifty-over World Cup as captain, with India entering as the favourites. The team topped the group stage, winning seven out of nine matches, although one was washed out.
India were eliminated in the semi-final, losing to New Zealand by 18 runs. Kohli admitted he felt completely lost the next day, struggling to find any motivation.
Kohli reflected on the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss, saying, “2019 loss was massive. When you wake up and you have no kind of understanding of what you want to do, like you’re dazed. It was like you have a horrible hangover. I didn’t really know what to do next. I couldn’t decide whether I should have coffee or brush my teeth. I was mentally all over the place, unable to process anything.”
Kohli also mentioned how the weather, particularly the rain, affected India‘s momentum during the tournament. He admitted that although accepting the loss was tough, it was essential not to dwell on it and to keep pushing forward.
He went on to say, “Everything seemed normal leading up to the game. We were set to play in the afternoon, but then the rain hit, and the match got pushed to the next day under completely different, early morning conditions. I kept thinking, what are the chances? But then again, things unfolded the way they did. At some point, you have to zoom out and reflect. You can’t get lost in what happened to me and this is what I’m going through. Maybe it was meant to be that way. Of course, accepting it isn’t easy, and it’s tough to digest, but eventually, you need to come to terms with it and move forward.”