[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by deehunk

...The bowling attack of most teams was weak in this World Cup, scoring against weak bowling attacks is no great achievement.

I disagree. When it comes to bowling attack, Aussie attack was one of the weaker ones. They had no 5th specialist bowler and Zampa had a torrid SF. Their bowlers rose to the occasion in the finals.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Unfortunately Dravid will take all the heat and will be replaced very soon...
...
Moreover, I agree to the comments made on SKY. Now we know why and how ABD was a special talent and SKY cannot be compared with him?
...
Disappointed with the crowd though. There was lack of support to the Indian Team when Head and Marcus were batting. Something that you won't see in Wankhade, Eden or Chinnaswamy stadiums. It could have made a difference in the moral of our bowlers and make the batter lose focus.

1. Dravid's tenure ended yesterday. It's on him to decide. Doubt anyone can blame him or even Sharma for this loss. There are unconfirmed reports that he has decided to not continue.
2. SKY probably has played his last ODI. He's 32 and won't be there for the next ODI WC anyhow.
3. Disagree again. Most of the crowd in Ahmedabad was from Mumbai. Plus do you now know of Eden in SF '96? I doubt we'll have any other knowckout in Eden ever.

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

BCCI's attempt to "supplement" the Indian Team with a worn-out pitch backfired badly. If the final was on a sporting wicket, Indian team would have got equal chance...

I don't think the pitch saga was to blame here. Yes, it was a bad pitch but we have won throughout the tournament on all kinds of pitches.
Aus, Pak, NZ, Eng in league was on similar pitches where we won.
SL, SA, NZ(SF) was on fast pitches where we won again.

Originally Posted by anand_roy

...Yes, they played well for the rest of the tournament - but that does not matter. The end result matters. And it is a fact that they have not won any ICC tournaments for a long long time.

One of the biggest heartbreaks! Probably bigger than 2003!

Disagree on the first part. It of course matters how you play the tournament. And of course, end result matters too. Yes, it is a fact that our cupboard lies bereft of any ICC trophy post 2011.

Agree on the second part: This stings more than 2003 (and that's because of the way Aus played that tournament)

Originally Posted by varunswnt

...What do you guys think India can do in its preparation for the next ICC trophy? What should we improve upon, and what should we take forward? What options do we have on the bench?

Not right now. Let this hurt a bit. Planning will come, but not right now. The next will be T20 WC next year. The only tournament of significance for ODIs is in 2025 Champions trophy in Pak. Till then it is T20 mayhem.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

That’s the sole reason why Pakistan have been successful in winning big matches, whenever they have...

Personally, what I feel, the difference between the 2011 winning WC team and this 2023 WC team was mental calmness/shrewdness of MSD. The way he took the decisions on the field based on the requirement at the moment and the way he marshalled his troops, like an Army General on a war mission...

Comparing our team to Pak is a low blow. Our team is way ahead of Pak now and has been for quite some time.

Originally Posted by Bhodrolok

Also Ahmedabad is just not the city or the crowd for the final of a world cup, it's a pity they did not choose any of the iconic venues for their political agenda.

Originally Posted by Gaur

...As you said, had this been in Wankhade,chinnaswamy,chepauk, eden gardens or even Delhi the atmosphere would have been more supportive.

Disagree with the Ahmedabad one. This is the largest stadium where most folks get tickets, else in other stadiums, majority is the VIP crowd. And did we forget Eden '96 SF?

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

... R Ashwin. If there was ever a match with the stage and the conditions to play him, it was yesterday.

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

We did, just that he got only one game, the opening one, that too against the eventual champions: R Ashwin...

How do we justify Ashwin? Seriously?
He played the first match against Aus. Did not have much impact.
He has played two WTC finals. Did not have any impact. What is the basis for suggesting Ashwin for knockout matches?


I know all of us are hurt, disappointed and what not, but we need to catch a breath and give some time to digest this.

[motorworks]

A World cup final loss is tough. Especially when you win all games up to that point.

First, as much as the ODI world cup seems like the pinnacle of cricket, i think its not as important as its made out to be. T20 world cups happen very often now, and one does not actually remember who won and who did not. Test championships are a forced thing anyway.

What matters is how good a team performs consistently. I would rather have team india win more matches regularly than a one off trophy. New Zealand, South Africa have never own any major trophies, but they are always amongst the top teams, and they do so consistently.

I mean, are we going to start talking about the next world cup, already? Matches are won in few minutes and overs! How can any team prepare for a tournament 4 years ahead?

Im not saying that we need accept mediocrity, but encourage consistent winning across all kinds of pitches in every country, push for a team who can win anywhere, world cups would only be a bonus. And this is where a team like Australia shine, they have been consistently winning it everywhere, and World cups are always a bonus for them! You think they appointed Pat Cummins as a captain for the ODI world cup? Nope, they wanted him to lead a team that wins consistently.

Every now and then the indian teams get hammered in England, Australia and New Zealand kind of conditions ( yes we have won recently, I understand) but we have to set this right. Pick bowlers and batsmen who can deliver in these places. Give them adequate training and time in these kind of locations. I think winning consistently all across the world is more important than being world cup champions when the tournament happens in your home country. I mean, we don’t really give ourselves much of a chance when the world cups happen in England or Australia, saying these conditions dont favour us. Australia has a habit of making every condition their home condition, thats the difference.

In my view, the indian team did very well in the World Cup 2023, you can’t deny that. The format was such that they played with every team, and yet prevailed. Even from a team selection point of view, nothing was wrong significantly. Only point could have been if we had a better solid middle order batsman than a very “T20 specific” Surya kumar yadav or possibly a better keeper than KL rahul since he is not a primary keeper ( and we would have had Rishabh pant in this role had he been not injured).

[msdivy]

Throughout the tournament, India had chinks in the armor. But brilliant individual performances camouflaged those chinks and ensured the team crossed the finishing line.

Sun, 08 Oct '23: Ind vs Aus
Jadeja triggered the Australian batting collapse to keep them under 200.
Kohli & Rahul came to the rescue after India were 3 down for 2.

Wed, 11 Oct '23: Ind vs Afg
Rohit brilliant century ensured a comfortable win chasing 272.

Sat, 14 Oct '23: Ind vs Pak
The batting collapse by Pak ensured they didn't cross 200.
Again good batting by Rohit ensured an easy win.

Thu, 19 Oct '23: Ind vs Ban
Kohli's century ensured a comfortable win chasing 256

Sun, 22 Oct '23: Ind vs NZ
Shami ensured NZ didn't cross 273. Good overall team batting ensured India chased down the target.

Sun, 29 Oct '23: Ind vs Eng
India managed 229 batting first. Poor England batting performance and good bowling by Shami, and Bumrah meant they folded for 129

Thu, 02 Nov '23: Ind vs SL
Good team batting ensured India set a target of 357. Brilliant Siraj & Shami bowing ensured SL folded for 55.

Sun, 05 Nov '23: Ind vs SA
Good team batting with Kohli's century ensured India set a target of 326. The batting collapse by SA meant they folded for 83.

Sun, 12 Nov '23: Ind sv Ned
Good overall team batting ensured India crossed 400. Ned had no chance of chasing that but reached 250 in their quest.

Wed, 15 Nov '23: Ind vs NZ (SF)
Good team batting and the late surge by Rahul ensured India set a target close to 400. With Kane & Daryl's 181-run partnership in 144 balls, NZ came close but the target was too stiff.

Sun, 19 Nov '23: Ind vs Aus (F)
It was almost the same Indian team that played in the tournament. So what didn't work? 2 reasons:

1) India needed a big partnership at more than run a ball, say 150 runs in 120 balls. This was needed from Kohli & Rahul while they batted. But they got bogged down and scored 67 in 109 balls and India put below par score.

2) Without a modern ODI score to defend, the only hope was the Australian batting collapse. But Australian batters ensure that didn't happen. They survived the initial onslaught, punished the bad balls when they had a chance, and by the time fielding restrictions were off, they were on course for a win.

The pitch was the same for both teams. So I would say poor batting cost India the cup.

Teams play according to their capabilities. Revenge is something that doesn't work in sports. I wouldn't dwell much on the loss. Come Thursday, let's sit down again for another game .

[RMN]

First of all, Congratulations to Australia!

Even though Team India lost, it's been truly a great performance and arguably, on current form they are still the best ODI team going around. This team did not ride on fortune to reach here, they bulldozed their way here.

But being the best and rising to the occasion on the most important hour are 2 different things as Team Australia (Men+ Women) have proved time & time again. Thats the difference between the best team and a champion team, I guess. No other cricket team seems to have had this ability, ever.

As much as I hate to say this, I think KL's innings cost us. We had a RR of over 6 and Kohli on the other end was able to go at 80+ SR. I think KL's first 35 runs came too slow (<50 SR). This allowed AUS to get back on top and India thew away any opportunity to dominate their weak links. KL should have gone at about at least 65 SR.

Anyway, I'm not as heartbroken as I thought I would be - probably because deep down, I kinda expected this. This has become a little too common now..anyway on to the next WC which is a T20 and the Olympics!


OT - When will the panel/jury that select MoM/MoS ever be a little more considerate towards bowlers? I cant believe they gave the MoS to a batsman and not bowlers like Shami or Bumrah in a tournament where so many runs were scored.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

I disagree. When it comes to bowling attack, Aussie attack was one of the weaker ones. They had no 5th specialist bowler and Zampa had a torrid SF. Their bowlers rose to the occasion in the finals.

1. Dravid's tenure ended yesterday. It's on him to decide. Doubt anyone can blame him or even Sharma for this loss. There are unconfirmed reports that he has decided to not continue.
2. SKY probably has played his last ODI. He's 32 and won't be there for the next ODI WC anyhow.
3. Disagree again. Most of the crowd in Ahmedabad was from Mumbai. Plus do you now know of Eden in SF '96? I doubt we'll have any other knowckout in Eden ever.

I don't think the pitch saga was to blame here. Yes, it was a bad pitch but we have won throughout the tournament on all kinds of pitches.
Aus, Pak, NZ, Eng in league was on similar pitches where we won.
SL, SA, NZ(SF) was on fast pitches where we won again.

Disagree on the first part. It of course matters how you play the tournament. And of course, end result matters too. Yes, it is a fact that our cupboard lies bereft of any ICC trophy post 2011.

Agree on the second part: This stings more than 2003 (and that's because of the way Aus played that tournament)

Not right now. Let this hurt a bit. Planning will come, but not right now. The next will be T20 WC next year. The only tournament of significance for ODIs is in 2025 Champions trophy in Pak. Till then it is T20 mayhem.

Comparing our team to Pak is a low blow. Our team is way ahead of Pak now and has been for quite some time.

Disagree with the Ahmedabad one. This is the largest stadium where most folks get tickets, else in other stadiums, majority is the VIP crowd. And did we forget Eden '96 SF?

How do we justify Ashwin? Seriously?
He played the first match against Aus. Did not have much impact.
He has played two WTC finals. Did not have any impact. What is the basis for suggesting Ashwin for knockout matches?

I know all of us are hurt, disappointed and what not, but we need to catch a breath and give some time to digest this.

Let me address this one by one.

1. Why is it upto Dravid if he wants to continue? What is bcci board for? What great achievements Dravid has to show for his tenure? We were winnings bilaterals, t20's and especially tests like anything in Shastri time too with Kohli as Captain. In fact we won the ICC test mace 5 consecutive years with Kohli as Captain. Didn't bcci sacked Kohli with lots of politics with then bcci chairman Ganguly stating specifically Kohli hasn't won any icci tournaments? Same statements were for Shastri as Coach. Well, now Rohit has lost t20, WTC and ODI world cup too and has Zilch Icc trophies to show. Same for Dravid. What will bcci say now? Coach and Captains changed, Zero ICC trophies remains. Need to bring a new aggressive Coach and Captain for white ball and separate Coach and Captain for tests. Same coach and captain don't work in all formats and bcci is still living in stone age regarding this cos they are busy counting IPL Money and appeasing their political masters.

2. Sky was never a ODI player. Didn't had 1 single performance to show. Complete failure of Selectors who as usual are good for nothing when needed most and Coach and Captain for selecting him again and again in squad. Funniest bit is his selection for test squad based on t20 performance when people makings tons and tons in domestic weren't even acknowledged by selectors. Why play Ranji, Duleep Trophy etc. Just play t20 IPL and get selected in test team.

3. Won't comment on crowd as I wasn't there and TV guys usually only shows what suits their agenda. Only someone who was on ground can give clear picture about crowd behaviour.

Like semis, pitch was there for both teams. Aussies read it perfectly. Bowlers perfect lengths and line to each batsman according to their strength and weakness. India despite knowing it's a slow pitch didn't prepare any plan for batting and Bowling and just went with the flow hoping to steam roll Aussies on basis of India performance so far. So, they got exposed as they didn't adapt to current situation.

I will still say our team was best in tournament till finals. They just didn't plan and execute. Team selections are done on basis of how pitches will behave. Not on the basis of winning combination idiotic formula. They still played same team as if it's a Wankhade pitch. And this is where we justify Ashwin. He strangled Aussies in first game. Gave just 34 runs and picked 1 wicket. An economy of 3.4 runs per over. Aussies didn't take any risks against him such is his presence against them. Siraj gave 45 runs in 7 overs here. Economy of 6.4 when they are defending just 240 runs. Plus Ashwin is good to give 20-25 runs with bat when needed. He is a fighter as we have seen all his career. We didn't play him in WTC final when he was no.1 bowler in World and we didn't play him here. Lost both. I got nothing against Siraj. He is a seam and swing bowler like Shami and pitch wasn't just there for their kind of bowling yesterday. If Siraj had any performance in him he had it in first 10 overs but Rohit started with Shami. Rohit messed up with his Captaincy yesterday and lot of blame to Dravid too for not seeing how the pitch is and preparing team according to that.

Anyways, we can do ifs and buts all we want. Bottom line is better team on the day won. I just want new blood now in white ball. Players like Yashasvi, Rinku Singh should be given long ropes. Find more bowling all rounders as hardik is past his date. Can't have top 6 clueless with how to bowl in white ball cricket. Need more people like Head and Maxwell and Marsh who give crucial overs when needed. And stop playing same players in every format for God's sake. Learn something from Aussies for a change.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

I doubt we'll have any other knowckout in Eden ever.

t this.

One of the two semi finals of this edition was at Eden, and it made for a great contest. I remember the 96 contest and the wicket took a lot of turn. It was difficult to bat on in the second innings but Sachin did get a good score. Toss played a decisive factor in that game, as it did, in hindsight, last evening.

Regardless of what you think, the Eden Gardens is one of the best places to play international cricket with a great atmosphere. People who run cricket agree.

Re Ashwin, he bowled well in the first game along with the others and if you thought he had no impact then you are biased. The point here is that there are 15 members in the squad and they are there not to cover for injuries alone. It makes sense to try out the others in dead rubbers to keep them match fit, so that you have options to consider when form becomes a concern for a member of the regular XI. Consider this, a bowler like Shami was not in the preferred XI and perhaps would have sat out if not for injury to Hardik.

[Ms. Tesla]

The aussies really must have worked real hard and so yes, immense respect for them. We should have worked harder but not complaining as our team worked hard too. They must have just had some bad luck. Every one has bad days too.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by harry10

Let me address this one by one.

1. Why is it upto Dravid if he wants to continue? What is bcci board for? What great achievements Dravid has to show for his tenure? We were winnings bilaterals, t20's and especially tests like anything in Shastri time too with Kohli as Captain. In fact we won the ICC test mace 5 consecutive years with Kohli as Captain. Didn't bcci sacked Kohli with lots of politics with then bcci chairman Ganguly stating specifically Kohli hasn't won any icci tournaments? Same statements were for Shastri as Coach. Well, now Rohit has lost t20, WTC and ODI world cup too and has Zilch Icc trophies to show. Same for Dravid. What will bcci say now? Coach and Captains changed, Zero ICC trophies remains. Need to bring a new aggressive Coach and Captain for white ball and separate Coach and Captain for tests. Same coach and captain don't work in all formats and bcci is still living in stone age regarding this cos they are busy counting IPL Money and appeasing their political masters.

2. Sky was never a ODI player. Didn't had 1 single performance to show. Complete failure of Selectors who as usual are good for nothing when needed most and Coach and Captain for selecting him again and again in squad. Funniest bit is his selection for test squad based on t20 performance when people makings tons and tons in domestic weren't even acknowledged by selectors. Why play Ranji, Duleep Trophy etc. Just play t20 IPL and get selected in test team.

3. Won't comment on crowd as I wasn't there and TV guys usually only shows what suits their agenda. Only someone who was on ground can give clear picture about crowd behaviour.

Like semis, pitch was there for both teams. Aussies read it perfectly. Bowlers perfect lengths and line to each batsman according to their strength and weakness. India despite knowing it's a slow pitch didn't prepare any plan for batting and Bowling and just went with the flow hoping to steam roll Aussies on basis of India performance so far. So, they got exposed as they didn't adapt to current situation.

I will still say our team was best in tournament till finals. They just didn't plan and execute. Team selections are done on basis of how pitches will behave. Not on the basis of winning combination idiotic formula. They still played same team as if it's a Wankhade pitch. And this is where we justify Ashwin. He strangled Aussies in first game. Gave just 34 runs and picked 1 wicket. An economy of 3.4 runs per over. Aussies didn't take any risks against him such is his presence against them. Siraj gave 45 runs in 7 overs here. Economy of 6.4 when they are defending just 240 runs. Plus Ashwin is good to give 20-25 runs with bat when needed. He is a fighter as we have seen all his career. We didn't play him in WTC final when he was no.1 bowler in World and we didn't play him here. Lost both. I got nothing against Siraj. He is a seam and swing bowler like Shami and pitch wasn't just there for their kind of bowling yesterday. If Siraj had any performance in him he had it in first 10 overs but Rohit started with Shami. Rohit messed up with his Captaincy yesterday and lot of blame to Dravid too for not seeing how the pitch is and preparing team according to that.

Anyways, we can do ifs and buts all we want. Bottom line is better team on the day won. I just want new blood now in white ball. Players like Yashasvi, Rinku Singh should be given long ropes. Find more bowling all rounders as hardik is past his date. Can't have top 6 clueless with how to bowl in white ball cricket. Need more people like Head and Maxwell and Marsh who give crucial overs when needed. And stop playing same players in every format for God's sake. Learn something from Aussies for a change.

1. Because first Dravid will decide if we wants to continue and then the board can decide if they want him to continue. It was only a couple of days ago Dravid was heralded as one of the best coaches of modern time. Surely one day can't change that?

2. Completely agree. Sky hasn't played a single ODI knock worth mentioning.

Agree with you on the pitch as well. Aussies read it perfectly and to be honest, we were OK till Rohit was there. I also agree that our team was the best in the tournament until the finals.

Where I disagree is playing Ashwin. Jadeja bowled much better than him in the first match against Aus; even Kuldeep did. There was no reason to change the winning XI, esp when your top spinner isn't showing any reasons to play.
And all this analysis is only because we lost. Had Ishan been better than Sky? May be! Had Thakur provided better options compared to Sky? May be!
Could Ashwin be a better bowler against Aus? May be! We'll ever know for certain.

"Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan."

[subraiyr]

As usual, we have a huge amount of post-match analysis going on. Each of us has become a Harsha Bogle or a Richard Benaud commenting and critiquing the loss/victory as one may want to look. We will continue to bisect, dissect and multisect the loss and will come up with a 20-point issue log and a committee within a committee to fix these issues. Unless the Board stops dictating and the coaches/captains have free hands in the selection, we will end up in the same pitch 4 years from now lamenting on that day in 2023 and how vengeance has not yet found its claws to dig in. To me

The best team won
The team with the better strategy won
The team with the better execution won
The team who believed in their larger-than-life game won
The team that had greater passion won
The team that wanted to shut the rhetorics of journalists, and tweeters won
The team who was tireless won
The team who felt every ball to be the last of the tournament and therefore played it like that won

[FourBanger]

This might be the only instance after a cricket match I am heartbroken.
Had very high hopes this time it is our time but unfortunately in sports nothing is predictable and it all came crashing down.
Gutted to the core, felt really sad after India lost.

People are comparing 2003 loss to this but this one was more bitter and I have seen both matches live.


Nevertheless congratulations to Australia for winning yet another World Cup

[noopster]

I really enjoyed this World Cup. The last time I even remember following the ODI WC so closely was back in 2011. 2015 and 2019 were a blur, but this time things worked out and I could actually catch a lot of matches real time. Even attended one in the stadium- NZ vs SA in Pune- but that turned out to be hopelessly one-sided, albeit enjoyable.

Despite some opinions otherwise on this thread, I do enjoy and value the ODI format. It allows for teams to recover from making early mistakes, a luxury not offered by the slam-bam nature of T20s. For people of my generation, whose earliest cricket-watching memories including winning the '83 Prudential Cup and then more vividly the '85 Benson & Hedges WCC in Australia (famous for 5 am starts telecast in beautiful white-ball glory and of course Ravi Shastri's Audi!), ODIs hold a special place in the heart. Test matches not so much: we would get hammered by the likes of the West Indies back then and younger me found the format "boring". I got back to appreciating Tests much later but the love affair with ODIs continues. There are fears that the format itself will die off since T20 is much more spectator and advertiser friendly but I hope the CWC'23 played its role in its resurgence.

What made this one special for me was the renaissance of the Indian top order along with the splendidly consistent pace attack. It gave the team amazing all-round depth which translated into their impressive performance. Perhaps a little more bloody-mindedness (like Maxwell showed in the Afghanistan game) by one or two of our batters yesterday may have put it beyond Australia's reach. But it was an enjoyable watch nevertheless.

[PPS]

The day after, the WC Final defeat still hurts. I thought 2003 Final would be more painful but this 2023 Final is even more painful ! Because it was played in our own backyard & the team was playing a fearless brand of cricket till the 10th over yesterday afternoon. Thereafter, team went back to the timid batting approach/mindset like the T20 WC. Going on the defensive was justified what with no batting depth + SKY/Jadeja not in the best form + slowish pitch, but it certainly didn't mean 2 boundaries in 25 overs & scoring rate dropping from 8 to below 4! It was obvious the way Virat & KL were batting there was a sense of fear of failure & to take a safety first approach. This conservative approach is justified in a Bilateral but not in a WC Final when its all or noting. It was too conservative! They could have taken the odd calculated risk. Remember, Pant & co. won in Gabba by playing a fearless brand of Cricket as if they had nothing to lose!

Now coming to the pitch conditions, I feel its one of the primary reasons for this WC loss! I do not know whose idea was it to prepare a slowish dry pitch - Team Management, BCCI Administration, Pitch Curator?! Such a slow pitch only gets the opposition into the game. Our batsman & bowlers all along were doing well on flattish pitches. It was imperative that a pitch was prepared to suit our strokeplay. Indian fans have every right to be angry & upset!

P.S. - All through the WC there was no experimentation at all but suddenly yesterday Shami took the new ball instead of Siraj. Siraj was only brought on in the 16th when he's not the most useful. Jadeja batting ahead of SKY was interesting considering both didn't even get a hit against minnows Netherlands!

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

I disagree. When it comes to bowling attack, Aussie attack was one of the weaker ones. They had no 5th specialist bowler and Zampa had a torrid SF. Their bowlers rose to the occasion in the finals.

I think Zampa was the 2nd highest wicket taker in the WC! Maxwell is more than a decent 5th bowler. By no means this Aussie attack was weak.

Dravid's tenure ended yesterday. It's on him to decide.

Whats for him to decide? BCCI can give him an extension till end of the year at best since whole process of appointing coach hasn't even begun.

SKY probably has played his last ODI. He's 32 and won't be there for the next ODI WC anyhow.

SKY experiment failed miserably! Hope it doesn't affect his T20 game.

I don't think the pitch saga was to blame here. Yes, it was a bad pitch but we have won throughout the tournament on all kinds of pitches.
Aus, Pak, NZ, Eng in league was on similar pitches where we won.
SL, SA, NZ(SF) was on fast pitches where we won again.

The Semis wasn't on a fast pitch. Infact is was the slowest Wankhede pitch that I've seen. Indian batsman also struggled against ENG on a similar pitch.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Moreover, I agree to the comments made on SKY. Now we know why and how ABD was a special talent and SKY cannot be compared with him?

SKY's success has only been in T20s. So not fair to compare at all.

Originally Posted by varunswnt

TWhat differentiates Aussies from others is their support staff and their better study of conditions, drawing plans for opposition,n.

Immediate thing which I noticed was them having their third man up & having a deep point for Rohit.

India always planned to bat first, whereas the Aussies were always prepared to bowl first.

I know thats what Rohit said at toss but he bowled first on this very pitch on this very ground against PAK!

[kushagra452]

Despite the bitter loss yesterday, let us not forget that the BCCI is a ruthless money making machine. The T20s against Australia start in a few days! I hope some sense prevails and the youngsters are given a chance to play in this series. Personally, I will be taking a break from cricket for a while now. The number of games that the Indian cricket team plays is crazy.

[Indraneel Bhat]

Sorry to say but I found so many comments in this thread very negative.

Yeah we lost. Yes we are all very disappointed. But this team went 10 games without a defeat in a WC. When have we done that in the recent past? We played a variety of teams in a variety of situations and still came out as winners. Each Team member contributed to this performance. Can we not celebrate that?

Why are we, at the first available instance, ready to throw our boys under the bus? Trolls go haywire targeting not just the players but also their families. And then we blame the "burden of expectations". At a time when we must be holding our team close telling them to forge on ahead, there's a bunch of us being keyboard warriors, kicking our boys when they are down.

I stand with the Boys in Blue. May they forge ahead with positivity. Hopefully the best is yet to come.......

[DevD]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

India always planned to bat first, whereas the Aussies were always prepared to bowl first. Read below what Rohit said after the toss.

India Vs Australia Final: What Captains Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins said at Toss

Indian Captain and Coach mis-read the pitch. They were probably extremely confident on their batting and bowling ability based on last 10 match performance. They thought that pitch would not matter. But pitch played the crucial role in match outcome. Australia's assessment of pitch was spot-on. With dew, the ball came on to the bat easily and did not grip enough to turn.

It was also evident that homework/planning was lacking to tackle the Australian batters.