Team India succumbed to a massive 209-run defeat in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia at The Oval on Sunday (June 11).
Chasing 444 to win, India reached 164/3 at the close of play on Day 4. They needed 280 runs on the fifth and final day with seven wickets in hand but got bundled out for 234 in the first session to lose the match by a huge margin.
After the disappointing result, India skipper Rohit Sharma advocated a best-of-three finals format going forward.
This was India's second successive defeat in the WTC final. In the inaugural edition, they lost to New Zealand in the summit clash. Two years ago, then head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli had also called for a best-of-three finals.
Playing three games to decide the winner would need a longer window, which is extremely tough to fit in a packed calendar.
"I would love that. But is there a time? That's the big question. But honestly, in a big event like this, you need to have fair opportunities to both the teams. You know, a three-match series would be nice, but it's about finding that window where it can be fit in," Rohit said in the post-match presser.
"But I would love to have - in an event like this, you work hard for two years and then you have only one shot at it. So, it's not really - you cannot get into that momentum that you need in Test cricket, you know.
"Test cricket is all about finding that rhythm, finding that momentum as well. So, I think, yeah if in the next cycle, if it is possible, three match series would be ideal," he added.
On the other hand, Rohit’s Australian counterpart Pat Cummins disagreed after leading his team to a maiden WTC title.
"I think it's fine. No qualms. I think ideally you'd have 50 match series but Olympics have come down to one race to win a gold medal. AFL, NRL seasons have finals. That's sport," said Cummins.
The Indian captain also emphasized on the need for a longer preparation period and he would also like to see the WTC final being played in different countries.
"Ideally, yes, event like this, final like this, you need a lot of time to prepare yourself and that is what we did in the last time when we were here in England. We had good 25-30 days to prepare ourselves. And you saw the result. We were 2-1 up until that game got called off.
"We would want to have good time in hand to prepare, give enough rest to the bowlers.
"And then Test cricket obviously requires a lot of discipline, hitting that area consistently and challenging the batsmen - but again you know Shami, Siraj, Umesh they all are experienced. But in an ideal scenario, yes, I would prefer if we have 20, 25 days to prepare for a game like this," said Rohit.
(With PTI Inputs)
