Indian cricket team had a fantastic Cricket World Cup 2023 despite their loss in the final to Australia by six wickets at Ahmedabad. Right from the first game, the Men In Blue put their feet down and displayed their authority on home conditions with bat and ball. Be it Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami or Shreyas Iyer; Indian cricket excelled under the guidance of Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. (Report | Scorecard | As It Happened | Full Coverage)
As the year 2023 draws to a close, here are some top moments from the marquee tournament from Team India that stood out.
1) Rohit Sharma's Captaincy
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was leading India in a 50-over World Cup for the very first time and boy did he impress. 'The Hitman' took Team India right till the final and were unbeaten in 10 games in the tournament. Besides his captaincy, his batting too came to the fore as he amassed 597 runs at an average of 54.27.
2) Rahul Dravid's Tenure As Coach
Indian coach Rahul Dravid might have not been in a World Cup final as a player but he did as a coach. Dravid's management was near-perfect and so were his assitants. Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip made sure the Indian team were giving their all in the matches. All in all, Dravid impressed in the World Cup and despite questions over his future, Team India are blessed to have him.
3) Mohammed Shami's Near-Perfect Bowling
Despite playing four games less, Mohammed Shami ended being tournament's top wicket-taker with 24 scalps at an average of 10.71. It included three fifers and one four wicket spell. Shami was impressive in his line and lengths and will be remembered as one of the most outstanding bowler in this year.
4) Virat Kohli Finally Breaks Sachin Tendulkar's Record
A tournament that saw the great man achieve many feats including 765 runs at an average of 95.62 in 11 matches. Virat Kohli was at the top of his game in this tournament as he went on to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI tons as the former amassed 50 ODI centuries. Despite not coming to the party in the final, Kohli's batting did all the talking in the tourney as he achieved 'godly status'.
5) Indian Cricket Team's Fielding Awarded After Every Game
After every game in the Cricket World Cup, India's fielding coach T Dilip had become quite the centre of attention with his dressing room speeches and made BCCI.TV's oft-criticised banal content look good with his fielding medal ceremonies, has been around the system forever. India's fielding was top notch right throughout the tourney and it was all attributed to T Dilip's hardwork and patience.
