AHMEDABAD: After India’s seven-wicket loss to Australia in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that the team fell short by 20 to 30 runs.
Another heartbreak was added to the list of Indian fans as Men in Blue succumbed to Australia, led by a masterclass from Travis Head, which helped the Aussies lift their sixth World Cup title.
“I mean, the result has not gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day. But proud of the team. It was not supposed to be. Honestly, 20-30 runs would have been good. I thought when KL and Virat were batting, we were looking at 270-280 at that point; however, we kept losing wickets. Australia stitched a big partnership after losing three wickets. With 240 on the board, we wanted early wickets but credit goes to Travis Head and Marnus. They put us completely out of the game and I thought the wicket got better to bat under lights. I mean, we knew under lights it would be better but I don’t want to give that as an excuse. We did not bat well enough, and credit goes to those two guys in the middle for stitching that big partnership,” said Rohit in a post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, Australia opted to bowl first and bundled out India for 240 in 50 overs. On a tough batting surface, skipper Rohit Sharma (47 in 31 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes), Virat Kohli (54 in 63 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (66 in 107 balls, with one four) posted important knocks.
Mitchell Starc (3/55) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia. Skipper Pat Cummins (2/34) and Josh Hazlewood (2/60) also bowled well. Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell got a wicket each.
In the chase of 241, India started off really well and had the Aussies down at 47/3. Knocks from Travis Head (137 in 120 balls, with 15 fours and four sixes) and Marnus Labuschagne (58 in 110 balls, with four boundaries) left the Indian team without answers and guided them to a seven-wicket win.
Mohammed Shami took one wicket, while Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets.
Travis was given the ‘Player of the Match’ for his century. (ANI)