Team India were at the receiving end of a humiliating 209-run defeat against Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final at The Oval.

Chasing 444 to win, India reached 164/3 at the close of play on Day 4 and needed 280 runs on the final day to clinch the WTC title.

However, Indian batting line-up crumbled in the very first session on Day 5, losing the remaining seven wickets for just 70 runs.

After the game, India head coach Rahul Dravid interacted with Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh, who performed commentary duties in the WTC final.

Speaking on Star Sports, Ganguly asked Dravid about the poor performance of India’s top-order batter in recent times and their lack of success in crucial games.

In reply, Dravid said: “Our top-5 is quite experienced. These players will be considered legends; the same boys won the series in Australia, the same boys won in England as well. They are good players. But I accept, and I think they will as well, that they didn't do justice to the high standards that they've set for themselves.”

"We are working on it. Some of the wickets have been quite challenging. This was a good wicket, I admit, but there were many conditions which weren't quite good for batting. In WTC cycle, every match is important. We can't play for draw anymore. We have difficult wickets in India, and result-oriented wickets are there outside India as well. So, all players have taken a hit on their averages, it's not just our players.

“But yes, we know that we need to score runs on the board to give our bowlers a chance. That's what we used to do,” he explained.

Dravid’s comment that the result-oriented pitches have impacted the averages of players around the world didn’t go down well with batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who insisted that the Indian coach should focus on his own team.

“It doesn't matter what the other players' averages are. We are talking about the Indian team now. The Indian players' averages are falling, something has to be done. The batting is the one which is causing problems. Why is it happening? That's something we need to look at. You bat well in India, you are the ‘dadas’ in India, but then, some of them falter outside,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

"Is the level of coaching not what you require? Is there not much of analysis about areas where you lack? Honest self-assessment is an absolute necessity after this. One team is going to win, one is going to lose. It's how you lose, that's the thing. That hurts.

“We have also been knocked out. And we have been miserable. You cannot say that the current lot is beyond criticism. You have to be analytical about what happened out there. Was our approach right? Was our selection right? You can't brush this under the carpet,” he added.

The result also meant India's underwhelming record in ICC events continued, with their last victory coming way back in 2013.

This was India's second successive defeat in the WTC final. In the inaugural edition, they lost to New Zealand in the summit clash.