World Cup 2015: Gloomy mood in national capital after World Cup defeat

The largely deserted roads of the national capital, juxtaposed with its spilling out pubs and eateries, were reflective of the mood of the nation expecting a cracker of a match as India took on Australia in the World Cup semifinals yesterday.

The day was witness to a mixed bag of emotions with spontaneous moments of joy, revelry in the beginnning that turned into heartbreak and despair towards the end as India crumbled under pressure.

Earlier, despite being a weekday, the roads and the metro network was giving the impression of a weekend as a large section of people stayed indoors, glued to their television sets.

Restive office-goers were seen engrossed on their smartphones checking ball-by-ball updates or hooked on to radio stations broadcasting the match. Several private companies also put up giant screens for their employees.

Various localities were decorated with buntings and fans, with their faces painted with the tri-colour, were seen sporting team India jerseys.

"We don't know what to do with the the stock of firecrackers now. It was really disappointing but have to give it to the team for their dream run," said Ankit Gautam, a resident of Timarpur.

Eateries and restaurants did not only put up LCD screens for the customers, they also had an array of special menus on offer, named after star cricketers like Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.