[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by AtheK

One bad day!!

Attachment 2533810

This proves why a final need to be best of 3. Without taking anything away from Australia, India indeed played more like "champs" over the WC winners.

[Indraneel Bhat]

Originally Posted by harry10

We were table toppers in 2015 and 2019 world cup also if I remember right. Even in Champions trophy 2017 which we lost to Pakistan we were toppers. We have played both WTC finals too by being on top. Topping table or winning 10 games in a row means zilch if you can't perform in the ultimate final which is everything to lift the trophy.

I beg to differ. Both editions, we may have topped the table, but in neither were we undefeated. This time the team dominated from the start. They faced every situation with character and intent. Everyone set about worshipping them, made expectations sky high. And when they came crashing down, we're venting frustrations online.
Right now they only need our support. This team did everything right. They couldn't close the deal. It happens. We move on.

[arnabbhagabati]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

6. We were prepared with plan A and never thought of a plan B. A player like Surya Kumar Yadav hardly got to bat through the World Cup since he never got that many balls to play. There was a chance to play him higher and provide some match practise to him when we had already qualified for the knock outs but instead we played with the same rule. Jadeja batting above him in the finals was a joke. In fact, I thought that he will even bat higher than Rahul just to break the shackles. Rahul and Kohli should have been more proactive during the middle overs. To not see any boundaries for almost 15 overs doesn’t really gel with the class and quality that they both possess. If Kohli, Rohit can bowl for fun against Netherlands then the same logic applied to the batters as well and they should have been promoted up the order to gain the vital match practise before the knock outs but that was not to be.

Completely agree
Unfortunately this is the second world cup in a row we seem to have lost because of same problem- no exposure to the lower order batting at all. Learning from last world cup, team should have given more exposure to Jadeja and Sky by sending them at no 4 or 5 after winning the 6th match.

Also as someone mentioned earlier, we need to think about having a mental coach or something. Somehow the team just didn't seem to have the killer instinct at all that Australia had shown. At 120 for 3, the way Kohli and Rahul was batting looked like India was actually 60 for 4. Two in form batsmen, (one arguably the best ODI batsman ever) unable to score boundaries off part time bowers and scoring 2-3 runs per over off them is ridiculous. It indicates that the pressure of the final had actually gone into their head.

Reminds me of Indian batsmen in the 90's, who would go into a "defensive shell" in the fear of losing a wicket and eventually just forget how to hit boundaries, ending at 200 odd for 6 in 50 overs

By the time Kohli was out, Australia clearly sensed that they are on top, and that's a dangerous place to be in in a final.

Even with the fielding, field placements etc, our team was just not aggressive at all. It seemed to me that Australia was just far more desperate to win than us, and we were just too pressurized by the scale of the event.

[dsuman]

It is understandably disappointing and heart breaking to lose out on a world cup. But why are we bashing our team. We all were praising them for 10 on 10. It was simply a case of 1 bad day just one bad day. Imagine how the team will be feeling. They became zeros from heros in a single day.

I believe dew played a really important role. Aus won with 50 balls to spare. Dew made batting easy compared to the Indian Innings. Their parttime spinners made batting difficult but our main spinners became ineffective. If you notice the last 20 overs of Aus innings (around 7:30 pm) became easy to bat. Before that they were circumspect. Even a score of 320 would have been chaseable. Some situations are completely out of control.

As we all know in driving we may have 99% situations under control but that 1% may cause an accident.

I am all for
1. Day matches where dew plays a significant role.
2. Have best of 3 finals. Lets remove the effect of 1 bad day. The world knows India was the Champion team but then dont have that trophy to show for that.
3. We need players like Pat Cummins who can Bat and play long Innings. We had 4 bowlers who could not be trusted with Batting long Innings.

[deathwalkr]

I wonder when team will decide on the SKY experiment from ODIs.

Dude has played 37 matches averaging scoring 700 odd runs averaging 25. I really like his style of batting in IPL and T20s but somehow dude get's bewildered while playing ODIs.

I would really like to see Sanju in the team (Homeboy and all that )

He's played just 13 matches scoring 390 runs averaging 55.

Oh well.

Let's see if the new blood play with vigour

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by dsuman

But why are we bashing our team. We all were praising them for 10 on 10. It was simply a case of 1 bad day just one bad day. Imagine how the team will be feeling. They became zeros from heros in a single day.

Just assume that as father, one is happy that the kid comes first in class in all the exams/tests all through the year and fails in the final board exams. Will the father praise the kid for previous triumph and say 'Chalo beta agla saal dekhenge' or whack the kid and ask why the kid failed in the final board?

It is another matter when it is very close fought game and the team tried till the end but still ended up on the losing side like in 2019 WC finals. We as fans can take that and stomach that. But we didn't score boundaries for 15+ overs and still scored only 4 boundaries after Rohit's wicket till end of innings. Worst case we didn't even rotate strike in middle overs when part-timers were bowling. You can settle in for 5-6 overs after a wicket and then start playing normal game but here Rahul's strike rate was 40 during major part of the innings.

We never know if we will have the kind of terrific bowling we have in the next World Cups. This World Cup was our best shot in a long time and we squandered our chances big time and choked in the finals. As fans, we should demand accountability from the team for having choked the way they did in the finals.

The pitch was a 325-330 target pitch and had we got to that our bowlers would have had a lot more to bowl at and Aus would have been under more pressure to take risks and score ending in few more wickets at crucial stages.

We need players like Pat Cummins who can Bat and play long Innings. We had 4 bowlers who could not be trusted with Batting long Innings.

If the top 6-7 batsmen could not do much in the game, then we should not expect a bowler who can bat to come and win the game for us.

[dsuman]

Will the father praise the kid for previous triumph and say 'Chalo beta agla saal dekhenge' or whack the kid and ask why the kid failed in the final board?


We never know if we will have the kind of terrific bowling we have in the next World Cups. This World Cup was our best shot in a long time and we squandered our chances big time and choked in the finals. As fans, we should demand accountability from the team for having choked the way they did in the finals.

The pitch was a 325-330 target pitch and had we got to that our bowlers would have had a lot more to bowl at and Aus would have been under more pressure to take risks and score ending in few more wickets at crucial stages.

If the top 6-7 batsmen could not do much in the game, then we should not expect a bowler who can bat to come and win the game for us.

But the kid is ours. We wont forsake him/her. Wont scold the kid in front of others. Simply means kid failed and he/she realises.

My friend take the example of 2003 WC Final. I thought that was our best team to win a worldcup and we would never have a team that we can dream of winning a World Cup with. Early exit in 2007 cemented that belief but then 2011 happened under MS Dhoni. Believe me my Friend in this Cricket crazy nation you will find 11 players like the 1983 and 2011 teams who can and will world cup.

I think, Going by the past trend India will be knocked out early in 2027 and win world cup in 2031

Best example is the Aus Vs Afg game. It was Maxwell with a No. 8 Batsman Pat Cummins who stitched up 201 runs partnership to win. Cummins played out more than 12 over and supported. For India in Test matches in the last 2 years bowlers have played key roles in scoring runs when top order batsman failed.

If you see in the last 10 years, India though lost many but has appeared in more ICC knockouts than any other team for e.g. WTC, Champion Trophy, WT20 and now WC2023. This shows the teams were capable but were failing in the final frontier.

We will see that Trophy in the BCCI cabinet soon. Our next target should be 2024 WT20 and 2025 Champions Trophy.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Just assume that as father, one is happy that the kid comes first in class in all the exams/tests all through the year and fails in the final board exams. Will the father praise the kid for previous triumph and say 'Chalo beta agla saal dekhenge' or whack the kid and ask why the kid failed in the final board?

I mean...why not? If the kid has been acing his exams before then, something must have drastically changed that affected their Board exam performance, right? I would be more concerned than angry, and would try to solve the specific issue so that the child could perform better in their next attempt.

Of course a better analogy here would be that the kid who stood first throughout came second in his Boards (not failed, which is a completely different story). Of course there are parents (and students) who treat that as some kind of abject failure but thankfully I am not one of them (neither are most people!). In which case you tell the kid, not the end of the world, you did your best, whoever came first was better on the day...exactly the things you'd expect the Indian cricket team to be told right now. They did not disgrace themselves by any stretch of the imagination.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

I wonder when team will decide on the SKY experiment from ODIs.

Dude has played 37 matches averaging scoring 700 odd runs averaging 25. I really like his style of batting in IPL and T20s but somehow dude get's bewildered while playing ODIs.

I would really like to see Sanju in the team (Homeboy and all that )

He's played just 13 matches scoring 390 runs averaging 55...

I think the SKY experiment in ODIs is done and dusted. Dude will be 37 in 2027 ODI WC and definitely not be part of playing XI. So, IMHO he has already played his last ODI.

Sanju might not find a place in ODI squad either. One, he hasn't done much against big teams. Two, we have a glut of good WK-batters in KL, Ishan and Pant.
He might make it in the T20 or test squad but that largely depends on how well KL/ Ishan do and how fast Pant is match fit. It is a bad time to be a WK-batter for the Indian team esp. if you haven't made the most of the opportunities given.

if you consider 2024 T20 WC in WI/USA, KL is nearly confirmed. Rest will all depend on how folks play in IPL (which is scheduled to end just before the T20 WC).

[harry10]

Trust me when I say nothing will change.

We will still dominate most Odi bilaterals.

Our test team has done well and we will be good their too as usual until WTC final in England comes and then same old story.

T20 we haven't won anything since 2007 world cup and I doubt we will soon considering the lack of all rounders and power hitters which teams like Aus, England have plenty. Bcci will give chances to youngsters to show they are making an effort. When t20 world cup comes in June next year somehow magically we will see Rohit, Kohli, KL etc back in squad and youngsters benched or not in squad. Bcci only cares for TV rights money and broadcasters only want to show guys like Kohli and Rohit who sell ads.

Common man is too busy with work and family. In few months IPL will be back and all will be well with most fans.

Unless bcci and their selectors actually make an effort to change the entire set up and mindset of Indian cricket with the ultimate goal to lift trophies nothings gonna change.

[aniketi]

I will never ever forget irresponsible shot played by Rohit in the finals. That one bad shot changed the game totally. If he would have stayed and made 50-70 runs partnership with Virat, things would have been totally different. It was easily possible too. It was total brain fade moment for me.

[landcruiser123]

Bad day at the office! That's it.

My dad rightly summarized the game as one where India was in control in the first 10 overs of both innings.

[how_you_doing]

India as a country has always punched below its weight though it is slowly changing. I always felt that with the money and human resources involved in cricket, the Indian cricket team should be like the NBA dream team of the USA. A team of the best players in the world, all of them from the same country comfortably beating all the teams.

This was the first time India had a dream team. A team that defeated all other teams. A team that was made of 11 winners, any one of them could have won the game for you. A team that ended up owning all the records that never happened in the history of the ODI World Cup of 48 years.

Unfortunately, India lost the final but I want to see this dream team of India continue winning 90% of matches and annihilating other teams. This domination should continue with the new generation as well.

If they can do it, in my eyes, this was a successful World Cup for us.

Also, India used to struggle to reach semis 20-30 years ago. Nowadays, they are often the first ones who reach the Semifinals. I think India should just mentally focus on winning semi-final and finals. I think Australia has the mentality where they pretty much play to win the semi-final and final and that is why they raise their level in knockouts.

[AtheK]

If you go by that Australia also in the end defeated every single team, the ones they lost to before they defeated them in knockouts.

They might not have any records but they have the trophy.

[Joeboy]

There is no guarantee that even if a team dominates and win 10 matches on the trot that they are going to win the 11th match as well. West Indies dominated in 1983 WC but was beaten by India. India dominated 2023 WC but was beaten by Australia in the final. Let us not be harsh on Indian players and just accept the fact that Australia played better on that day and won.