India’s skipper, Rohit Sharma, addressed the disappointing outcome of the ICC World Cup 2023 final against Australia. Despite entering the final unbeaten, India suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Australia, who secured their sixth World Cup title.

The final took place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, with Australia winning the toss and opting to field first under the captaincy of Pat Cummins.

India found themselves at 76/2 in the 10th over when Rohit Sharma departed after scoring 47 runs off 31 balls. Subsequently, the Indian batting lineup struggled to accelerate, managing only four boundaries in the last 40 overs, resulting in a total of 240 runs. Virat Kohli contributed 54 runs, while KL Rahul scored 66.

In response, Australia initially stumbled at 47/3 in the seventh over. However, Travis Head’s outstanding knock of 137 runs and Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten 58 steered Australia to victory with six wickets in hand and seven overs to spare.

During his guest appearance alongside Shreyas Iyer on Netflix’s ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’, Rohit Sharma hinted at the positive atmosphere within the team. He noted that despite the ultimate defeat in the finals, the team remained upbeat, having secured victories in all their previous matches. Rohit emphasized that the players were in good form and had established a strong rhythm leading up to the final showdown.

He said,” It’s hard to say because, before the match we were in Ahmedabad two days earlier, and had our practice. The team had maintained a good momentum. As they say, the team was on autopilot. But when the finals began, we had a great start, I think Shubman Gill got out quickly. But then Virat and I had a small partnership. We were confident that we could get a good score”.

Rohit Sharma expressed his belief during the conversation that setting a challenging total on the scoreboard could create pressure for the opposition batsmen, potentially leading to the loss of wickets. He stressed the significance of scoreboard pressure in big matches, stating that even a modest target can induce stress on the opposition, causing them to falter.

The captain also admitted that he had concerns about how the nation would react to the heartbreaking defeat on home soil. He expressed surprise at the reception he received following the finals, indicating that it differed from what he had anticipated.

“I was contemplating that despite the World Cup being hosted in our country, we couldn’t secure the victory. I feared that the nation might harbor resentment towards us, that people would feel let down. However, to my surprise, wherever I went after the World Cup finals, all I heard was praise for our performance. People thoroughly enjoyed the cricket we played, despite the unfavorable outcome,” Rohit concluded.