Posted in Foreign News

Five things that went wrong for India in the Cricket World Cup final

   November 21, 2023
Five things that went wrong for India in the Cricket World Cup final


Australia are champions for the sixth time after defeating India by six wickets in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad.

Hosts India won all ten games up to the final and were considered heavy favorites for the title, but failed at the final hurdle.

Al Jazeera takes a look at five things that went wrong for India on the day as their winning streak ended at the worst possible time.

1. The throw, the pitch and the conditions

From the moment the pitch was revealed, all eyes were on the toss and all the talk was about what the captains would do next.

The late change of pitch in India’s semi-final against New Zealand surprised the experts of the game and played into the hands of the hosts.

The pitch for the final in Ahmedabad was badly worn – much to everyone’s surprise at an event of this magnitude.

Would this suit the Indian spinners and the skills of the hosts’ prolific batters in the middle overs? Would it also reduce the impact of Australia’s striking bowlers? Quite the opposite.

On the face of it, the gamble failed for India – almost from the moment they lost the toss.

The Indian fans fell silent when Australian Pat Cummins made the correct call, but then roared with joy when he decided to take to the field. It’s hard to imagine Rohit Sharma sharing the enthusiasm of the Ahmedabad crowd. Below are more detailed reasons why the throw was so crucial in hindsight.

2. India’s border census

Rohit Sharma went hard on the Australian seamers at both ends with the two new balls and it paid off to some extent. Virat Kohli continued the attack and his three consecutive boundaries against Mitchell Starc at the start of the seventh over looked threatening for Australia.

However, Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal in the 11th over triggered an all-out period of play that lasted over an hour and 90 balls.

Kohli adapted to the conditions knowing India’s hopes of dictating the final rested on him. But when a slow pitch came and Cummins’ near-perfect off-cutter beat Kohli, the silence in the stadium reflected the nation’s nervousness.

Towards the end of their innings, the Indian batters again failed to score a boundary for over an hour.

3. The Australian Quicks

For many, India’s fast bowlers were the reason for the hosts’ dominance and role as favorites before the final.

Mohammed Shami only came into the team in the fourth game following an injury to Hardik Pandya, but made headlines with his strike rate.

In the final itself, the Australian sailors clearly won the direct comparison. Josh Hazlewood is known for his captivating line and length – deadly on a slow pitch. Starc is devastating on any pitch with his skill and aggressiveness as a left-back. With his change of pace, Cummins is the perfect opponent for the opening round.

The trio proved to be a perfect storm “sticky” wicket, as Ravi Shastri described it.

That was just the beginning of the Indian innings. In the end, the ball, worn away on the abrasive surface, turned over and all India’s hopes of achieving a par score of 280-290 vanished.

4. The weirdos

Shami rightly grabbed the headlines, but the economical bowling of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja was also crucial.

There were signs that India might use Ravichandran Ashwin on Ahmedabad’s slow pitch, but they didn’t. CCould he have played such a significant role in the finale?

Meanwhile, the Australian spinners made good use of the afternoon heat on the slow pitch. Glenn Maxwell picked up Rohit while Adam Zampa caught Jasprit Bumrah.

Their Indian counterparts showed similar levels of control and economy but went wicketless.

5. India’s sailors

The playing field for the trio of Indian seamers was not the same as the Australian seamer attack.

The dew that drenched Ahmedabad in the days leading up to the match was not as strong as expected, but the changing conditions under the lights were enough to hamper the Indian bowlers.

The ball came onto the bat much better throughout the chase and there was enough moisture on the surface from the dew to not have an abrasive effect on the ball. In fact, even the natural swing at the start of the innings was not as pronounced as it was at the start of the game.

By the 43rd day of the match, when the winning runs were scored, any hopes that the ball would turn for India had long since vanished.

Had India reached a total closer to 300 and the game had ended, Shami, Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj might have been able to turn the ball over – and the result for the hosts.

Had Rohit won the toss, would this have been a story of five things that went right for India?





Source link