A disheartened Rohit Sharma admitted that Team India were not good enough against Australia in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final. On Sunday, a billion fans suffered a massive heartbreak after the Aussies shattered India’s dream of ending the drought of ICC titles.
After being asked to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rohit Sharma & Co were bundled out for a below-par score of 239. In reply, Travis Head scored a phenomenal 137 off 120 deliveries and featured in a match-winning 192-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, who remained unbeaten on 58.
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Speaking at the post-match show, Rohit said the wickets of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hurt India the most in the game.
“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," Rohit told the broadcasters.
The Indian captain further lauded the commendable temperament shown by Head and Labuschagne who batted patiently under the lights and took the game away from India’s hold.
“When you have 240 on the board, you want to take wickets but credit to Head and Labuschagne who stitched together a big partnership and put us completely out of the game. We tried everything we could but I feel the wicket got slightly better to bat under lights. Don’t want to give that as an excuse," Rohit said.
“We knew under lights it would be slightly better to bat, but don’t want to give that as an excuse. We didn’t put enough runs on the board. With the seamers upfront, we took those 3 wickets and another wicket there, we could open up the game. Credit to those two guys in the middle for stitching an outstanding partnership," he added.
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Chasing a tricky 241 for victory in the final, Australia slipped to 47-3 before the left-handed Head hit his second century of the tournament to steer the team home with seven overs to spare.
Head’s knock and his marathon stand of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne, unbeaten on 58, ended India’s dominant run of 10 unbeaten matches at the event.
Head fell after his 120-ball knock laced with 15 fours and four sixes before Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs to trigger wild celebrations in the Aussie camp.
(With Agency Inputs)
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