The dream that the Indian cricket team and its billion-plus supporters saw ended on Sunday. In the Cricket World Cup final, Indian cricket team was the favourites after an all-win record coming into the title clash against Australia. There were practically no chinks in India's armour and against Australia, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team was primed to take revenge of the loss to Australia in the 2003 World Cup final. However, what happened was that the Australian brilliance again came to the fore when it mattered the most.
The famed Indian batting line-up could not up a challenging total batting first as they were all our for 240. Travis head then scored a brilliant century to ensure that Australia reach the target easily.
Shubman Gill is one important member of the Indian cricket team. The opener is one who is expected to take the Indian cricket team forward in the next decade. He wrote an emotional post after the loss in the Cricket World Cup final.
"Been almost 16 hours but still hurts like it did last night. Sometimes giving your everything isn't enough. We fell short of our ultimate goal but every step in this journey has been a testament to our team's spirit and dedication. To our incredible fans, your unwavering support in our highs and lows means the world to us. This isn't the end, it's not over until we win. Jai Hind," Shubman Gill posted on X.
India and Australia players dominated the World Cup team of the tournament as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the official team on Monday.
The ODI World Cup 2023 saw some of the best individual performances on the cricket field throughout the tournament. Australia emerged victorious by besting the unbeaten Indian team at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
In the tournament team, South Africa's left-handed batter Quinton de Kock (South Africa) and India skipper Rohit Sharma (India) were chosen as the opening pair.
De Kock amassed 594 runs at a strike rate of 107.02 throughout the tournament, only Indian pair Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have scored more than the batter. He was also chosen as the wicketkeeper for the team.
Rohit played some blistering knocks throughout the tournament and ended up with a tally of 597 runs in the campaign. The experienced batter was also chosen as the skipper for the ICC Team of the Tournament. Rohit's aggressive approach was defined by his strike rate of 125.94 which is the highest of any top-four batter in the tournament. Only Glenn Maxwell and Heinrich Klassen scored at a quicker rate among the World Cup batters.
Virat Kohli took the number three spot on the back of his all-time great run of form. With 765 runs to his name, he scored the most runs ever by an individual batter in the history of the tournament.
The number four and fifth spots belonged to New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell and India's KL Rahul respectively. He scored 552 runs in nine innings at a batting average of 69 and a strike rate of 111.06 which showcased his true potential.
On the other hand, Rahul came out as a model of consistency scoring 452 runs in the campaign. He finished the tournament with a stunning average of 75.33, which was the third-best for any batter during World Cup 2023.
The sixth and seventh spots belonged to spin-bowling all-rounders - Glenn Maxwell and Ravindra Jadeja. Maxwell stood up when it mattered the most. He scored a 40-ball ton which is the fastest century in the World Cup and scored an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan to power the Aussies to the semi-final.
Jadeja proved his worth with the ball by picking up key wickets throughout the middle overs. His economy rate was among the best as he went for 4.25 per over and backed up the new-ball attacking line-up.
Finally, in the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, Dilshan Madushanka, Adam Zampa and Mohammed Shami sealed their places.
These bowlers were among the leading wicket-takers of the tournament and gave their respective teams a brilliant start in the powerplay as well as in the middle overs.
South Africa all-rounder Gerald Coetzee was chosen as the 12th man for the team. He stood up for the Proteas in the absence of Anrich Nortje.