Indian cricket team faced an agonising six wicket loss in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The Rohit Sharma-led team had won ten games on the trot coming into the final but unfortunately fell at the final hurdle. Pat Cummins' side extended their authority in the World Cups with their sixth title. Aussies had a tremendous 2023 with the WTC Championship, the Ashes urn and now the Cricket World Cup trophy added in their illustrious cabinet.(Highlights | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
As for the Men In Blue, their decade long wait for the ICC trophy continued. After their six-wicket defeat in the Cricket World Cup final, Rohit Sharma said that they lost to a better team. "The result has not gone our way. We were not good enough today. We tried everything but it wasn't supposed to be. 20-30 runs more would have been good, KL and Kohli were stitching a good partnership and we were looking at 270-280 but we kept losing wickets."
"When you have 240 on the board, you want to take wickets but credit to Head and Labuschagne for putting us out of the game, but I feel wicket got slightly better to bat under lights. Don't want to give that as an excuse. We didn't put enough runs on the board. Credit to those two guys in the middle for putting up an outstanding partnership."
Team India's dream of winning their third World Cup was left in tatters after their heartbreaking six wickets loss to Australia. The Aussies have now won a record-extending sixth World Cup title, stretching their dominance in the tournament that started way back in 1975. Put in to bat, Indian batters could only muster 240 despite contributions from Rohit Sharma (47 off 31 balls), Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and KL Rahul (66 off 107).
Just like his performance in the WTC final against India in June, Travis Head made a match-winning 137 off 120 balls as Australia chased down the target in 43 overs.
Indian hopes were raised when Australia lost three wickets for 47 but a 192-run partnership between Head and Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) shut the door on the opposition.
Australia's brilliant bowling and fielding also went a long way in their emphatic win. The dew in the evening also made batting easier on a slow and dry surface. India, who were the only unbeaten side going into the final after 10 wins on the trot, fell flat in the final hurdle. Their last world title came way back in 2011 and their last ICC trophy was the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013.
India's defeats in the ICC events over the past decade include the loss in 2014 World T20 final, 2016 World T20 semifinal, 2017 Champions Trophy final, 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal, 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal and back-to-back runners-up finish in the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championship cycle.
(With PTI inputs)
