India’s dream of lifting the Cricket World Cup 2023 trophy was crushed on Sunday (November 19) as Australia defeated them by six wickets in the tournament final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
On a slow pitch, Indian batters failed to get going and managed to post only 240/10 in 50 overs after being asked to bat first.
While skipper Rohit Sharma played a fiery knock of 31-ball 47 at the top, the hosts lost three wickets for 81 runs in the 11th over. Subsequently, Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and KL Rahul (66 off 107) adopted a consolidation strategy in the middle overs, where India struggled to find the boundary.
In reply, the Aussies rode on Travis Head’s stunning hundred (137 off 120) and Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten half-century (58 off 110) to get over the finishing line in 43 overs.
After the game, India head coach Rahul Dravid supported his players, citing that they were not playing defensively but rather responding to the demands of the game circumstances.
"We played fearless cricket, we had 80 runs in the first powerplay. Sometimes, you have to rebuild innings after losing a few wickets, we were not defensive," Dravid said in the post-match press conference.
Notably, India haven’t won an ICC tournament for the last 10 years. After the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, the team has lost as many as four ICC event finals and bowed out in the semi-finals on numerous occasions.
In the Rohit-Dravid era, India lost the WTC final and World Cup final to Australia this year while they faced a semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup last year.
Dravid's tenure was till the ODI World Cup and he was non-committal when asked about his future.
"I have not given any thought to next year's T20 World Cup, I don't know what's there in future," the coach said, referring to the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean in six months' time.
The Men in Blue were on a 10-match winning streak in the World Cup 2023 as they won all their nine league-stage fixtures and defeated New Zealand in the semi-final. However, Rohit Sharma’s men were outplayed by the Aussies in the title clash.
Skipper Rohit led from the front with his aggressive batting throughout the competition and Dravid was all praise for him and the team.
"Rohit has been an exceptional leader, always committed to planning and giving personal time and energy to this campaign. Obviously, there is disappointment, but this team has given a lot of joy in the past couple of months.
"Of course, Rohit and the team is disappointed, and it is tough to see the emotion as coach in that dressing room. But the sun will come up tomorrow, and as sportsmen, we move on," he remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)
