IND vs AUS: Australia continued to haunt India in the finals of the ICC events and won by six wickets to win the 2023 World Cup Trophy in Ahmedabad. The defeat has extended India's wait to win the World Cup trophy by at least four more years. As the fans continue to ponder the reasons behind India's defeat, here we have a look at four things went wrong for Team India.
1. Toss
The toss played a huge factor keeping the conditions of pitch in mind. Australia captain Pat Cummins might have taken the best decision in his life - put India to bat first when the pitch the was slow and make India take up bowling in the 2nd innings when the dew got settled in.
2. Slow Batting
After Rohit Sharma's hitman show, the pressure was on Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who had bat on the slow pitch. Though both of them were able to score runs initially, it was Aussies who seemed to be everywhere on the field and did not let India take the momentum from them.
3. Collapse of middle order
India's middle order, usually highly reliable, faltered at a critical juncture. Key players like Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav couldn't contribute significantly, and KL Rahul's slow-paced innings added to the woes.
4. Suryakumar Yadav's failure
The team management continued to back Suryakumar Yadav and retained him in the playing XI for the final. But the right-handed batsman failed to give the much-needed finish touch to the score. Suryakumar, who is the top-ranked T20I batsman, only managed to score 18 off 28 balls. The biggest upset when he started to take single in the last ball of every over. He took ample time in the middle and got dismissed when he tried to play big shots.
5. Spinners went wicketless
Dew played a significant role, hindering the effectiveness of Indian spinners. So, the Indian spinners failed to do their job in the final and struggled for a wicket. The lack of turn due to the wet ball allowed Australian batters, particularly Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, to build a substantial partnership.
6. Extras
17 extras inside 17 overs was not Rohit would have expected after posting 241 as target. So, India's fielding and extra runs contrasted sharply with Australia's exceptional fielding, adding pressure on the Indian team.