Indian Cricket Team Loses World Cup

INDIA Lost the ODI World Cup. Why did we lose the cricket final? What went wrong?

SPORT

Krv

11/20/20232 min read

Why did India Lose the World Cup Final?

How did a team that won every match decisively, suddenly play well below it's potential?

Cricket Enthusiasts!

An exciting final, where Australia had the upper hand. It was mostly anxiety-filled for India with a few brief moments of joy and intense hope. It wouldn't be wrong, if I said that the entire country was hoping that the Indian team would pull off a miracle. Shami & Bumrah conjured an intense bowling spell that sent three of the Australian batsmen back to the pavilion. Well, that's where the miracle ended and it was also the slow and steady fade of India's chances of winning the title. A title win that would have come after a long gap. And, where else, could the dream have been fulfilled? In the world's largest stadium, at home, in India.

India's Past World Cup Wins

Way back, in 1983, under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, Indian cricket made history, by defeating the mighty West Indies and winning the Prudential World Cup for the first time. Later on, this magical moment came again in 2011, when under MS Dhoni's captaincy, India lifted the Cricket World Cup after waiting for 28 years. Having missed this chance in 2023, we will have to wait till 2027 when the next world cup is scheduled.

Fatal Mistakes

India's happiness lasted in the first 10 overs of each of the innings, our's and the Australian's. During India's innings, When Rohit, as usual, gave a wonderful start. The second round of pleasure was when Shami & Bumrah dismissed the Australian's top three specialist batsmen. And, that's it, after these brief periods, things did not brighten up.

Though our boys played seemingly well, with doubtful intent, they should have approached the game differently. Since this was the finals, Rohit's should have taken a more prudent approach, with the intent of not just giving the team a flying start, but also staying at the crease for a longer duration. A cautious approach, with a steady stream of runs, would have laid a solid foundation. As captain, he was one of the batsmen who, as Captain and India's second-highest run-getter, should have stayed at the crease and guided India through to the halfway mark.

Virat Kohli and K L Rahul stayed and did exactly that. But, even, these two, who found ways to score runs and by-pass fielders in previous matches, seem to have lost their touch. Shreyas Iyer, for all the promise he has shown, failed to steady the situation and score big at this juncture. He too, threw away his wicket. Surya Kumar Yadav, for whatever reasons, could not get going. Had he been able to do so, the last 5 to 6 overs could have yielded a good 50 runs, which could have made a difference. Should Surya Kumar Yadav have taken on more responsibility and strike? SKY showed his lack of experience when he let Shami and the rest of the bowlers continue to take strike.

Could things have been different? Yes. In all likelihood, at the very least, SKY should have faced more balls and hatched a plan to take on the disciplined Australian bowlers. It bothers me to say and point out the glaringly obvious fact that the South Africans put up a better fight than we did. In the end, the body language of our team showed that they had given up. It's a difficult thing to digest. Losing while going down fighting would have brought many a cheer and admiration from the hundred thousand+ crowd.

The Australians deserve all the credit. They came back from the bottom with a bad start at the beginning of the tournament. They clawed their way to the top to dethrone the ONLY unbeaten team in the tournament. There's a reason, why they are the champions. In all the 13 editions of the ODI World Cups, Australia has been the Champ's SIX times while West Indies and India have won twice each. It's a pity, that the West Indies have not qualified this time.

Disappointment

Disappointment is difficult and that too after the pitch controversy. But, as with most things, these events will fade away like bad memories. New games, wins and exploits will take over and the past will be reflected with what-if and if-then conversations. Kudos to our team, for their unbeaten run up to the finals.