India captain Rohit Sharma was visibly disappointed after losing the ICC World Cup 2023 final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
India failed to defend a below-par score of 240 on a slow pitch at Motera mainly due to a brilliant 137 from Travis Head in the summit clash.
Tough loss to swallow
India, the only undefeated team in the tournament up until the final, faltered at the last hurdle and paid a heavy price for it. But Rohit still held his head up high and was proud of his teammates for playing the way they did in this World Cup.
"I mean the result hasn't gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day. But proud of the team. It wasn't supposed to be," Rohit said after the match.
Batting failure in Ahmedabad
The 36-year-old also rued the fact that their batting failure and lack of runs in the death overs led to their defeat. He also congratulated Australia and Head for their triumph.
"Honestly, 20-30 runs would've been good. I thought when KL and Virat were batting, we were looking at 270-280 at that point and we kept losing wickets.
"With 240 on the board, we wanted early wickets but credit to Travis Head and Marnus. They put us completely out of the game."
India's ICC title drought continues
Rohit also pointed out that the pitch got better to bat on under lights and it was clearly visible in the final as Head and Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) finished India's challenge with their 192-run partnership.
"I thought the wicket got better to bat under lights. I mean we knew under lights, it would be better but don't want to give that as an excuse. We didn't bat well enough, but credit to those two guys in the middle for stitching that big partnership," Rohit said.
Australia have now won the ODI World Cup a record-extending six times - 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2023. India's ICC title drought continues with their last triumph coming under MS Dhoni in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
