Despite being so close to winning the title, India suffered a heart-wrenching loss at the hands of Australia in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 finals. Rohit Sharma and co. were visibly frustrated and upset with this performance and this loss will sting the team a lot.
For a team that was nothing short of a juggernaut in this ICC ODI World Cup 2023 campaign, the loss on Sunday was extremely painful. India had won 10 games on the bounce before the finals and had a near-perfect campaign.
Most of India’s boxes were ticked in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and the batters, bowlers and fielders played like a well-oiled unit. But it was the patience and perseverance of Australia that eventually made the difference.
In this article, we take a look at the 3 reasons why India lost the finals of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023:
1. Toss Decision didn’t go in favour
Looking at the pitch, the winning captain could have chosen to field first. And that is how things panned out when Australian skipper Pat Cummins had won the toss. India were batting first on an extremely slow track that lacked life.
On the other hand, when the opposition team came to bat in during the 2nd innings, the pitch became a tad faster. The dew factor also didn’t work in favour of India and the whole toss decision played a big part in deciding the winners of this contest.
2. India’s in-form batters turned big flops in the final
India’s in-form batters in the form of Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill failed to get their bearings right in the all-important finals. While Shreyas Iyer, who had scored two consecutive centuries in the ODI World Cup 2023 leading up to this game, departed for a zero, Gill was dismissed for 4.
Had the two batters added a few valuable runs, India could have reached to a competitive total in this final. And any score above 270 is extremely challenging in a high-voltage final.
3. Mohammad Siraj not being used in the powerplay
One of the major differences in the strategies of Team India in the finals was Mohammad Siraj not being used during the powerplay. Mohammad Shami was used as the first-change bowler and Shami and Jasprit Bumrah bowled a spell of 5 overs each.
The spinners were then brought into the attack and Siraj was held back to a latter period of the game. Mohammad Siraj had lost his prime weaponry when he came out to bowl.
