Cricket World Cup: Countrymen will not be able to forget this World Cup defeat

Indian sports fans were heartbroken by the ODI World Cup defeat. Now we will have to be content with accepting that 19 November 2023 was not India’s day. Team India was earning accolades for its brilliant play throughout the World Cup. We reached the finals by winning 10 consecutive matches. But luck betrayed us in the crucial match itself. Who knows when we will get such a golden opportunity to become world champion. If we cannot win by playing at home and in front of our own fans, then when will we win? If we slip at the last step then we ourselves are responsible for it. No team management strategy worked that day. India had defeated this Australia in its first league match in Chennai. The pain of this defeat will hurt us for many years. It will not be easy to forget this. The Indian team missed the ICC title for the ninth time in the last eight years. Australia won the World Cup for the sixth time. Records are made and broken in the sports world. World Cup-2023 will be remembered for many such records which will be called difficult, if not impossible, to break. How can anyone forget Virat Kohli’s 50 centuries in ODI cricket and Kangaroo’s Maxwell’s unbeaten inning of 201 runs against Afghanistan. This performance is nothing less than a miracle. This game is now played not only on the field but also in the mind. A strategy is made to counter every move of the opposition team. Mental strength is an important factor on which all teams work seriously. But, the Indian team’s strategy was not successful in the decisive match. Kangaroos turned out to be smarter than us. His move to make India bat first after winning the toss was successful. Our team reached the finals by winning match after match. Team India had reached the final for the fourth time in the history of ODI World Cup. Each of our players has played their role well. Just our team did not look good in the final match. All-rounder Hardik Pandya was out of the competition due to injury but his absence was not felt at all. The reason, when Mohammed Shami got a chance in his place, he created a storm in the opposition camp. The whole country went crazy over Shami.

The score of 240 runs was not worth fighting for.

The Indian team was on cloud nine before the final match in Ahmedabad. Along with the team, the morale of the countrymen was also high. No one would have imagined that Rohit and company would lose like this. A score of less than 300 in a 50 over match is considered risky. Captain Rohit started well but the middle order could not capitalize on it. The partnership between Virat Kohli or Rahul also did not last long. Surya Yadav’s bat remained silent throughout the World Cup. His highest score was 49 runs in the match against England on 29 October in Lucknow. Indian batsmen looked helpless in front of Kangaroo bowling and their fielding. Scoring runs became a mountain. If a batsman needed to stay and play a long innings, then we would have been able to give a target of more than 300. But, we could give only a meager score of 240. Due to this, no pressure was created on the opposition team. Due to poor batting, India had to face defeat in an important match. This opportunity to win a big title on your home ground will not come again and again. India also has an old habit of losing in title matches.

Virat Kohli and Shami impressed

This was the last World Cup for captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. By the next World Cup, both of them would be approaching 40. On this basis, it can be said that both of them may not be able to play the next World Cup. The 2023 World Cup could not be memorable. But, Indians were very happy to see the excellent form of Virat Kohli. In this World Cup, maximum 765 runs came from his bat. There are three centuries and six half-centuries in this. Apart from this, Virat Kohli also became the first batsman in the world to score 50 centuries in ODI matches. While playing against New Zealand in the semi-finals, he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries. It is difficult for others to reach the position where Virat is today. Right now he can play comfortably for three years. It is possible that he may break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of total 100 centuries. Mohammed Shami got his chance when Hardik Pandya got injured and was ruled out of the World Cup. Shami has presented a brilliant example of his sharp bowling. Shami is the top Indian bowler with 24 wickets in 7 matches. He did the feat of taking 5 wickets in a match thrice. In comparison to them, the performance of Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj remained lackluster. Bumrah took 20 wickets in 11 matches and Siraj took 14 wickets in the same number of matches. Captain Rohit became the first player in the 48-year history of the World Cup to score a half-century of sixes. He has hit 55 sixes in 27 matches. Rohit has hit 67 sixes so far this year. This is a record of sixes in a calendar year. Apart from this, he has also become the first Indian captain to win 10 consecutive matches in the World Cup. Shreyas Iyer will remember his two centuries but by getting out cheaply in the final, he left the team in the lurch. Same was the condition of Shubhman Gill. Four fifties came from his bat, but he is also the culprit of the final.

South African team proved to be chokers again

South Africa had made a great start in this World Cup. His batsmen were creating chaos. In a match in Delhi, three of his batsmen scored centuries. This team also reached the semi-finals. But when they faced Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the African batsmen surrendered. This team has been branded as chokers for a long time. That means this team gets defeated in knockout matches. The same thing was proved again. Everyone was speculating that India would face South Africa in the final. But, in the semi-finals, Australia defeated them by three wickets and were eliminated from the tournament. In fact, African team captain Temba Bouma’s own performance was disappointing. He did not play any good innings. Quinton de Kock and Dussen also did not play in the important match. Miller alone scored a century but the entire team could score only 212 runs. It is very difficult to win the match on such a low total.

Afghanistan and Netherlands made upheavals

No one was taking Afghanistan and Netherlands seriously in the World Cup. But these bottom ranked teams surprised everyone by pulling off many upsets. Afghan players defeated England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Similarly, Netherlands defeated a strong team like South Africa in Dharamsala. The Dutch team also defeated Bangladesh. Such performance of weak teams will be remembered for a long time. The match played between Afghanistan and Netherlands in Lucknow was also in favor of Afghans. In this way, after winning four matches, the Afghanistan team came into the race for the semi-finals. If they had won the match against Australia, they would probably have been included in the top four. He had also lost 7 wickets at 91 but at the same time Maxwell played a strong inning of 201 and made the Kangaroo team win. Afghanistan lost the match which they had won in a disappointing manner. But he won everyone’s hearts with his bravery.

World Cup was bad for some teams

This World Cup has been a nightmare for some teams. The England team was the champion of the last World Cup-2019. It was expected that this team would reach the semi-finals. But, it had to face defeat from many weak teams. Captain Jos Buttler’s poor form continued. He could not play any good innings. Same was the condition of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan surprised Pakistan by defeating them. Babar Azam has also been removed from the captaincy. Sri Lanka is going through a period of change. His entire team is new. Therefore there seems to be a lack of experience. New Zealand played well as always but lost to India in the semi-finals. Its captain Williamson did not play the first few matches due to injury. Indian origin Rachin Ravindra won everyone’s hearts with his explosive batting. He is the future star of New Zealand. Bangladesh team not only performed poorly but also lacked sportsmanship. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan was criticized for the way Angelo Mathews was given out in the match against Sri Lanka. Mathews became the first player in World Cup history to be dismissed through time out.

– Adarsh ​​Prakash Singh