On Sunday, November 19, India were at the receiving end of a thumping in the ODI World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. They went onto lose the summit clash of the 50-overs format by six wickets, which led to the Australian cricketing team getting their hands on the coveted trophy for a whopping sixth time in history.
Team India huffed and puffed to a below total of 240 all out in their allotted 50 overs. KL Rahul top scored for India with 66 off 107, while Mitchell Starc picked up three wickets for 55 runs in his 10-over spell.
During the run chase, Australia did lose a few early wickets, but Travis Head arguably played the best innings of his career to ensure that his team reached the target with seven overs to spare. He ended up getting 137 off 120, while Jasprit Bumrah had managed to grab a couple of scalps.
In this feature article, SportsTiger looks at five reasons that cost Team India the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia.
Getting the worst of the conditions during batting and bowling
The pitch for the ODI World Cup 2023 final was very dry and bare to start with, and it got slower in the afternoon while the Indian batting innings progressed. Although the captain Rohit Sharma provided a fiery start in the first powerplay stage which saw them reach 80/2 in just 10 overs, the rest of batters weren’t able to dictate terms to the Australian bowlers as the ball got softer, and it became harder to hit.
There was a bit of movement for the Indian fast bowlers for the first few overs of the Australian batting innings, which saw them reduce the opposition to 47/3 at one stage. But when the dew started falling at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Indian spinners weren’t able to get into the game, while the fast bowlers looked quite ineffective as Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne started to build their partnership.
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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s dismissals when they were set
One of the major turning points of the ODI World Cup 2023 final was the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, who appeared to be the only batter posing hard questions to the Australian bowlers in the first powerplay stage of the Indian batting innings. Glenn Maxwell picked up the key wicket of Rohit Sharma for 47 off 31 with four fours and three sixes, while he was trying to put him over his head for a maximum, only to find Travis Head at cover region, who took a smart running catch.
Although Virat Kohli slowed down a touch after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, he still looked in relative control in his quest to take the Indian batting innings to calmer waters after three wickets fell in quick succession. But when the score was 148/3 in the 29th over, he managed to chop the short ball from Pat Cummins onto his stumps, at a score of 54 off 63, which put Team India firmly on the backfoot.
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Lack of intent from Indian batters in the middle overs
After the loss of Shreyas Iyer’s wicket cheaply in the 11th over, with the scoreboard reading 81/3, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul steadied the Indian batting innings while playing conservative and risk-free cricket. When the time came for them to put the pressure back on the Australian bowlers, they seemed quite happy with taking singles and doubles, allowing the opposition to dictate terms to them.
From the over number 11-40, Team India got only two fours which led them to scoring just 117 runs after they managed to find 12 boundaries in the first powerplay stage. This lack of intent from the batters in the middle overs was very costly for India in their quest to bring home the coveted ODI World Cup 2023 trophy for the third time.
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Pat Cummins and Australia’s astute strategic planning and execution
From choosing to field first after winning the toss to a memorable bowling spell to leading his team on the field in a calm manner, Pat Cummins was quite incredible for Australia on the night of the final. The 30-year-old employed the strategic plans of the team management to perfection in the field, especially after the big wicket of Rohit Sharma fell.
The best example of Australia executing their strategic plan to absolute perfection was against Suryakumar Yadav in the death overs. They put a fielder behind the wicket for SKY, and the fast bowlers kept bowling slower bouncers on a wearing pitch to him, which led to his tame dismissal at the very end for 18 off 28.
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Travis Head’s epic hundred against formidable Indian bowling attack
Travis Head became the player of the ODI World Cup 2023 final after scoring an epic hundred and taking a match-defining catch of Rohit Sharma. When the 29-year-old was dismissed while trying to hit an ODI World Cup winning six, he had got 137 off 120 with 15 fours and four sixes.
He was involved in a match-winning partnership of 192 runs for the fourth wicket with Marnus Labuschagne, taking the formidable Indian bowling attack to the cleaners as the Australian innings progressed. Notably, Travis Head was also the player of the match for Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India earlier this year.
