The Indian team lost in the final against Australia which proved as an anti-climax for a near-perfect campaign. India qualified for the finals with 10 wins on the trot and played exceptional cricket throughout the tournament but at the last step, things didn’t go well for the Men in Blue.
Let’s take a look at 3 things India could have done better in the final:
Conservative Approach
Throughout the tournament the Indian team played with a fearless approach but in the final, the Indian team could not replicate that. Rohit Sharma, as a leader, has inculcated a fearless approach, especially in the batting unit but in the summit clash, it was exactly the opposite. After the dismissal of Rohit and Virat, the batting unit could not break the shackles and got consumed in the shell. At no point did it look like India could accelerate, the pitch was tricky to bat but team India could have posted a total of around 300.
“Spin did not win”
Team India’s spinners have bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament but in the final, the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav could not get breakthroughs in the middle overs. The pace battery put pressure on the Australian team in the initial overs but the spinners could not capitalize on that momentum to put Australia in the backseat. Kuldeep Yadav looked toothless which did not let India gain anything after the first 10 overs.
Dew – A Factor?
Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl first and he pointed out dew as one of the factors behind his decision. Dew did come in the second half of the match but it did not become as big a factor as the pundits had expected. The Indian spinners could not make much difference and dew did play a certain part but there were not enough runs on the board to put pressure on Australia in the second innings.