World Cup Final: ‘We were not good enough’, Rohit laments India losing wickets in a heap after solid start

India skipper Rohit Sharma could barely hide the disappointment in his voice after his team suffered a six-wicket defeat against Australia in the final of the 2023 ICC World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

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The Men in Blue had been the standout team in the tournament with 10 wins in as many matches, including a six-wicket victory over Australia in the opening game in Chennai on 8 October. They would, however, suffer a defeat by the same margin against that very team in the game the matters the most, missing out on a major trophy yet again.

“I mean the result hasn’t gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day. But proud of the team. It wasn’t supposed to be,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony after India lost the a World Cup final for the second time in four appearances.

Rohit was once again at his attacking best after Australia captain Pat Cummins invited the Men in Blue, who were the only undefeated team until Sunday’s marquee clash, to have a bat. Rohit had been among the most destructive batters in the first 10 overs of the innings throughout the World Cup, and had smashed his way to 47 off 31 deliveries on a surface that wasn’t easy to bat on.

Even though he was dismissed in the final over of the powerplay thanks to a terrific catch by Travis Head off Glenn Maxwell’s bowling, India looked quite comfortable on 80/2.

The Australians, however, did a superb job of drying up the runs after the opening powerplay, conceding just two fours in the next 30 overs as India’s scoring-rate plummeted despite half-centuries from KL Rahul (66) and Virat Kohli (54), who shared a 67-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

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In the end, India could only manage 240 on the board after 50 overs, a total that would later be overhauled quite easily by the Aussies thanks to a magnificent 120-ball 137 by Head and his 192-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out).

“Honestly, 20-30 runs would’ve been good. I thought when KL and Virat were batting, we were looking at 270-280 at that point and we kept losing wickets. Australia stitched a big partnership after losing three wickets. With 240 on the board, we wanted early wickets but credit to Travis Head and Marnus,” Rohit, who has likely made his final appearance at cricket’s showpiece event, added.

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Rohit also felt the track got better to bat on as the game progressed and the floodlights came into effect, but insisted he did not want to use that as an excuse.

“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 don’t want to give that as an excuse. We didn’t bat well enough, but credit to those two guys in the middle for stitching that big partnership,” added the ‘Hitman’.