Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
The loss in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia will haunt the Indian fans for a number of years as the Men in Blue failed to end their ten-year-long ICC Trophy drought on their home soil. The Rohit Sharma-led side came into the summit clash having won ten matches on the trot, however, they faltered on the big stage against the six-time champions who were well prepared to counter anything India threw at them.
As a result, the hosts suffered a harrowing six-wicket loss in front of 1.3 lakh fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the dream of a billion people was crushed by Pat Cummins and his men. Following India’s shocking loss, there have been widespread discussions about what went wrong for the tournament’s most dominant team on the big stage.
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Recently, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) officials had a meeting in Delhi with the head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, who joined via a video call from London, where they discussed India’s performance in the World Cup. According to a report in Dainik Jagran, BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, vice president, Rajeev Shukla and treasurer, Ashish Shelar were present in the meeting where they asked Dravid and Rohit the reason behind India’s loss in the final.
Dravid apparently blamed the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as the main reason behind India’s poor show on the big stage. On the other hand, Rohit reportedly said that the pitch didn’t turn as much as the team management thought it would.
Notably, a used surface was used in the final on the advice of the local curator. Generally, a fresh pitch is considered for knockout matches in a World Cup, however, it’s not mandatory. Hence, all the knockout matches were played on used pitches in the cricketing extravaganza.
The pitch used for the final was watered less: Reports
The report further states that the pitch for the final was watered less to assist spinners but the move didn’t work in India’s favour. After being put in to bat first, the Men in Blue could only manage to post 240 runs on the board as they failed to come to terms with the slowness of the wicket.
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However, the pitch got better to bat under the lights, much like the India vs Pakistan fixture, and Australia comfortably chased down the target in 43 overs riding on a scintillating hundred by Travis Head (137 off 120). Dravid was also reportedly asked why such a plan was made despite the dominant show by Indian seamers throughout the event. The head coach reasoned that the same plan had worked for them in the entire tournament but not in the final.