JINXED: How a single woman was blamed for the undoing of 11 men.

Whole of India erupted in a collective moan as the ball arced its way from the bad pull to the wicketkeeper’s hand. And as Virat Kohli was returning to the pavilion, the camera found that one face that India needed to put all their blames on, to insult and to call ‘panauti’ or jinxed.

No, it was not of Kohli’s or any of his teammates. It was of a Woman’s who had flown thousands of miles just to see and support her boyfriend in his semifinal match. It was Anushka Sharma’s face.

I now ask how is that fair? How can a whole team of wonderful players fail due to one woman? How can she be singled out from the thousands in the stands? Just because she is a woman and successful and popular?

I don’t see how Anushka should be blamed for the defeat when she wasn’t even batting, bowling or fielding. But I know why she was.

People are frustrated with a loss that came off a team they gave all their support blindly to. India was not expected to even reach the quarter-finals with the performance in the tri-series and all. Yet, they reached semifinals. And that too by obliterating every other team in their path. The miracle team thus inspired a misplaced arrogance. The chant of “We won’t give it back” was a rock-hewn reality for the avid fans. So when the disaster struck, the very foundation of their belief shattered. It could not have been a normally possible outcome. The player’s that they had hero-worshipped all these days can’t just fall. Unless….. Unless, some sinister forces of bad luck was in play. But what can bring such a bad luck? When the people being the self-proclaimed expert critic of the game, were trying to analyze the answer to this obviously universe shaping question, Lo and Behold! There she was. Just the thing they wanted to point fingers at. Anushka Sharma was the bad luck.

The very idea is so medieval that I cringe at the thought of it. A woman can only be a distraction and not a strength. It can’t be bad day because of him, it has to be her. In a time when the feminist movement has gotten such a huge moment, when talks of women empowerment is abundant, when people are actually aware, this sort of immaturity in their thought has to be condemned.

Thanks to all the mango people and celebs who stood up for Anushka Sharma:

Also kudos to Virat Kohli who stood next to her and protected her against the barbaric onslaught of his fans, as he was seen exiting the airport holding hands with Anushka Sharma. He even escorted her to the car while shielding her from the media and the fans. Kudos them for being brave and strong in the public.

India lost CWC15. It was unfortunate. India still has got a long way to go. It was a collective fault of the team. It was a fault of the coach. It was a fault of the management. It was the fault of the selectors and board members. But in no way was it her fault. And people should stop believing and professing otherwise.