Former India cricketer and commentator Murali Kartik has backed the Indian cricket team after their loss in the 2023 World Cup final. India’s phenomenal run in the 2023 World Cup campaign came to an end at the hands of Australia in Ahmedabad.
The two cricket powerhouses were competing for the ultimate prize in ODI cricket at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19. In the end, Australia were able to outclass the Indian squad to pick a record sixth title in the sport.
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Despite this heartbreaking loss, Murali believes that India deserves plenty of credit for the brand of cricket they played at home. In his post on X, he wrote, “It’s taken a while to accept that this team could lose in this edition of the WC. But many congratulations firstly to Australia, clearly there’s a handbook and journal distributed everywhere in Australia on how to win competitions..a huge shoutout to our boys for the brand of 1/2.”
Its taken a while to accept that this team could lose in this edition of the WC..But many congratulations firstly to Australia, clearly there’s a handbook and journal distributed everywhere in Australia on how to win competitions..a huge shoutout to our boys for the brand of 1/2— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) November 20, 2023
India’s run in the tournament will rage in the hearts of millions of fans in the coming ages. They put up a show at home beating all their opponents in the group stage including the likes of Australia, England, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.
They redeemed themselves from their 2019 semi-final exit against New Zealand after beating the Black Caps by 70 runs in the semi-finals at Wankhede. The team built a 10-match winning streak, surpassing their 2003 World Cup run under Sourav Ganguly where they won 9 successive games.
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All that now remained was beating an Australian side who pulled off a reverse sweep of eight victories into the final. However, fate had other plans for the Men In Blue.
The match began with India losing the toss and finding themselves batting first on the pitch. Australia built early pressure into the game with some excellent field placements from skipper Pat Cummins and a brilliant fielding display from his team.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul smashed fifties for the Indian squad but the hosts could only manage a mere total of just 240 runs having lost all their wickets. In the second innings, India managed to shock the Australians with early wickets, leaving them at a tally of 47 for three wickets at the end of the seventh over. However, Travis Head stepped up for the Aussies and scored a match-winning century to secure a six-wicket win for Australia.
It will be interesting to see if this loss for the Men in Blue will lead to some changes in the squad. Current coach Rahul Dravid’s contract has also expired after the World Cup. It still isn’t confirmed if the cricketing legend is going to continue as the coach of the Indian squad or if a replacement could be on the cards.
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