Cricket World Cup final: 5 reasons why India lost the summit clash | India vs Australia

Not many thought that Team India would lose the 2023 Cricket World Cup final but fans' dream of ending the ICC trophy jinx came crashing down as India was beaten in their own backyard by Australia on Sunday. Here are the top 5 reasons for India's poor show in the final.

Lack of boundaries

Despite losing Shubman Gill early, India was 80/2 after 10 overs but the tide turned against the hosts post that. Runs dried up and the Men in Blue failed to find boundaries. In fact, India managed 12 boundaries in the first 10 overs but managed only 4 fours in the next 40 overs, As a result, the 241-run target proved below par.

Middle-order failure

India's middle-order came to the team's rescue more often than not throughout the tournament but not when it mattered the most. After an in-form Shreyas Iyer was out cheaply, KL Rahul did drop anchor but chewing up 107 balls for his 66 proved fatal. Suryakumar Yadav too failed to impress and was out for just 18, which cost India crucial runs in the death.

Slow wicket

Having an extremely slow wicket for the final was criticised by experts even before the first ball and they were right. Pat Cummins called it right at the toss and his decision to bowl first cost India big time. As the sun set, the 22-yard strip got better for batting and it worked in Australia's favour. It won't be wrong to say that India failed to capitalise on the home advantage.

Dew

Dew also proved to be a big factor in India's downfall. Despite taking 3 early wickets, Indian spinners failed to spin their web of destruction as there was negligible turn on offer due to a wet ball. As a result, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stitched a comfortable 192-run partnership to lead their side to World Cup glory

Poor captaincy

Lastly, poor captaincy in the final was also one of the big reasons for the loss. India was still in the match but needed to break the Head and Labuschagne stand but Rohit Sharma didn't have any slip for his spinners. Both the Aussie batter edged a ball each but there was no slip to catch it. Rohit might have been spot on in the entire tournament but he failed to put his best step forward on the day of the final.