India suffered a heartbreak in the final of World Cup 2023 when Rohit Sharma's men went down to Pat Cummins-led Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. India's juggernaut was brought to a halt with Travis Head arguably playing his best ODI knock so far under immense pressure conditions. The Men in Blue went down in the final by 6 wickets as the Aussies collected their 6th World Cup.
A gutted Indian captain tried hiding his tears and reflected on the match in the post-match interview. "The result has not gone our way. We were not good enough today. We tried everything but it wasn't supposed to be. 20-30 runs more would have been good, KL and Kohli were stitching a good partnership and we were looking at 270-280 but we kept losing wickets," Rohit said after India's defeat in the post-match interview.
Despite a below-par score in these conditions, the Indians came roaring in the second half with three wickets to jolt the Aussies but Head and Marnus Labuschagne held the fort like anything. Rohit reflected on the partnership between the duo and detailed on the team's performance.
"When you have 240 on the board, you want to take wickets but credit to Head and Labuschagne who stitched together a big partnership and put us completely out of the game. We tried everything we could but I feel the wicket got slightly better to bat under lights. Don't want to give that as an excuse. We knew under lights it would be slightly better to bat, but don't want to give that as an excuse. We didn't put enough runs on the board. With the seamers upfront, we took those 3 wickets and another wicket there, we could open up the game. Credit to those two guys in the middle for stitching an outstanding partnership," Sharma said.
The Indians were on a 10-match winning streak before the final. They were already having their best campaign in terms of matches won in a World Cup. The Indians were bowled out for the first time in the tournament on the final ball for 240. Head's 137 and Labuschagne's 58 posted a 192-run stand to help the Aussies win their 6th title.
