Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has denied the fact that the Indian team were defensive with the bat in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia. He also stated that the team needed to rebuild after losing a few wickets in the middle. However, India lost to Australia by six wickets in the all-important final of the 2023 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Put into bat first on a sluggish pitch, they could only manage 240 on the board as well. Captain Rohit Sharma (47 off 31) started well but Shubman Gill (4) and Shreyas Iyer (4) were dismissed cheaply. Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and KL Rahul (66 off 107) then added 67 runs for the fourth wicket, but others failed to contribute.
At a post-match conference, Dravid said: “We played fearless cricket, we had 80 runs in first powerplay. Sometimes, you have to rebuild innings after losing a few wickets, we were not defensive. They also did the same when Head and Labuschagne batted but they did not lose wicket and kept going.”
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Rahul Dravid, however, stated that the Indian team were at least 40-50 runs short with the bat, saying that the wicket was a pretty good one as well. “It was a bit slow to start off with when the sun was on. But I thought it played fine. It was probably a 280, 290 kind of wicket. It wasn’t 240. We should have got those 40 extra runs. That might have put more pressure on Australia. Thought it played really well later on as well. So, I thought it was a pretty good wicket. Sometimes looks can be a bit deceiving. Didn’t really have that many tricks,” he further added.
However, Rahul Dravid also added that the loss in yet another ICC final was a bitter pill to swallow for the team. But he praised Rohit Sharma as a great leader and someone who invested a lot in the team as captain as well.
“Of course disappointed, as are many of the boys in the dressing room. It was tough to see as a coach, because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they’ve put in, the sacrifices they’ve made. So, it’s tough. I mean, it’s tough to see that as a coach, because you get to know these boys personally,” Rahul Dravid concluded. “He’s been an exceptional leader. You know, Rohit’s really led this team fantastically well. He’s certainly got the dressing room, he’s given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys. He’s given a lot of his personal time, energy into this campaign.”
