Ahmedabad

The tournament's top wicket-taker, Mohammed Shami expressed gratitude towards fans for their support throughout the tournament and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for meeting players in the dressing room.

Having an unbeaten run throughout the tournament till the final, India came so close to clinching their third World Cup crown, however, Travis Head stood tall between Men in Blue's victory and starred with the bat, hitting an inspired century to win Australia's men their sixth ICC Cricket World Cup crown.

A billion Indian hearts were broken on Sunday, but none more than the 11 players who gave their all on the field to reach the final after competing fiercely in the tournament for more than a month. Even though India did not win the 2023 World Cup at home, the way they performed throughout the competition was nothing short of an extraordinary dream for the billions of Indian supporters.

Shami took to X and thanked Indian fans for their unwearying support and shared a photo of the PM giving him a hug.

"Unfortunately, yesterday was not our day. I would like to thank all Indians for supporting our team and me throughout the tournament. Thankful to PM @narendramodi for especially coming to the dressing room and raising our spirits. We will bounce back!" Shami wrote on X.

Unfortunately yesterday was not our day. I would like to thank all Indians for supporting our team and me throughout the tournament. Thankful to PM @narendramodi for specially coming to the dressing room and raising our spirits. We will bounce back! pic.twitter.com/Aev27mzni5

— 𝕸𝖔𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖒𝖎 (@MdShami11) November 20, 2023

Mohammed Shami, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, was exceptionally impressive considering that he didn't even play for the squad when the season began.

After missing his team's first four games, Shami emerged as a star bowler, claiming 24 wickets at an average of just 5.26 and 10.70.

Prime Minister Modi hugging Mohammad Shami to comfort him after the latter broke down for the loss of the Indians team and posted on X by him has been seen by 2.4 Million people.

PM Modi holding hands of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, with Jaspreet Bumrah and coach Rahul Dravid

Some more Pictures from PM Modi's interaction with the Indian team in the green room have also been posted on social media and these are going viral.

Pakistan's former cricket player Danish Kaneria praised Prime Minister Modi for his gesture and said he had never seen a leader encouraging sportsment like this:

Right man at right place!

Never seen a country’s Prime Minister in team’s dressing room to boost the moral of players. Great gesture by PM @narendramodi https://t.co/hQjlxJ5fEJ

— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) November 20, 2023

Only four players in the history of the men's game--Lasith Malinga (56), Mitchell Starc (65), Muttiah Muralitharan (68), and Glenn McGrath (71), have taken more wickets in the Cricket World Cup than Shami (55), with Shami's returns occurring in ten fewer matches than any of the players above him on the list.

A picture of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithram meeting Mohammad Siraj at the Ahmedabad airport has also gone viral on X:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets cricketer Mohammed Siraj at Hyderabad airport.

She praised him for his performance and motivated him. pic.twitter.com/FK1FBCynSi

— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) November 20, 2023

India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who made his place in the ICC Team of the Tournament thanked the fans for their support and wrote on X, "We had a great tournament but we ended up short yesterday. We are all heartbroken but the support of our people is keeping us going. PM @narendramodi's visit to the dressing room yesterday was special and very motivating."