Team India were on an unbeaten streak of 10 matches in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, but they suffered a heartbreaking six-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the title clash in 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 seal the chase with seven overs remaining.

Almost five months later, KL Rahul opened up on the agonizing World Cup final loss and also reminisced his unusual innings in the summit clash.

Rahul’s knock included only one boundary and he was dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the 42nd over.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad against Australia. I was just stuck in that moment on whether I (should) take down Mitchell Starc. It (ball) was reversing, and he was bowling from a difficult angle for me to attack him. So, I was just stuck in between, on whether to attack and play him and take a chance... and in that confusion, I ended up nicking the ball and getting out at a crucial time,” Rahul said while speaking on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel.

“I felt like I had continued that innings and gone on to play the rest of the 12 overs (8) or whatever was left, we could have probably gotten 30-40 runs more, and we could've had a World Cup in our hands. That's something I regret,” he added.

After the World Cup, KL Rahul travelled with Indian team for the tour of South Africa while he featured in the first home Test against England before getting ruled out due to an injury.

Rahul eventually returned to competitive action in the IPL 2024 season for Lucknow Super Giants.