India has now lost both the WTC finals they have played in.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said that India should have put up a better fight against Australia in the WTC 2023 final. Australia beat India by 209 runs to become the winners of the World Test Championship at the Kennington Oval in London on June 11.
Australia dominated the proceedings after posting 469 runs as they were asked to bat first by India captain Rohit Sharma. Travis Head and Steve Smith hit centuries, while Mohammed Siraj picked four wickets.
In response, the Indian batting faltered as only Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51) posted some resistance in the first innings total of 296 runs.
With a lead of 173 runs, Australia made merry in the second innings, posting 270/8d and setting a 444-run target for India to chase.
Though India started the innings advantageously, the wickets soon began to fall and apart from 49 by Virat Kohli, 43 by Rohit Sharma, and 46 by Ajinkya Rahane, none of the other batters came to the party as Australia bowled out India for 234 runs and won the WTC final by 209 runs.
Ganguly said it was an anti-climactic finish for India while adding that the expectations were too much on Rohit Sharma and co. on Day 5 of the WTC Final.
“Anti-climax for sure but we were expecting too much on Day 5. 280 runs are a lot when you have only three batters left - Kohli, Jadeja, and Rahane. The fifth day's cricket is different in these countries. It becomes double-paced, whether it is England or Australia. That is why probably such runs have not been scored for the last 100 years,” said Ganguly on Star Sports.
He continued by saying that India ought to have fought harder against Australia in the WTC Final, and he even questioned Rahul Dravid, India's head coach, about it. India has already lost back-to-back WTC Finals—to New Zealand in 2021 and to Australia this year.
“I agree with you that they should have put up a better fight. Harbhajan Singh and I even asked Rahul Dravid about it. There is a slight dilemma while asking as well as you have yourselves played cricket and won and lost matches but sometimes you need to ask,” Ganguly added.
Insisting that one must score runs at this level regardless of how big a player they are, Ganguly emphasized the poor averages of India's hitters. In the two innings of the WTC Final, none of India's top four hitters reached a half-century.
“The averages we have seen in the last five years - 26 to 28, no matter how big a player you are, you have to score runs at this level if you have to win big tournaments, which India hasn't done,” said Ganguly.
India will now travel to West Indies last month to play 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is, and 2 Tests, kicking off their WTC 2023-25 cycle.