Rohit Sharma recalled the 2023 World Cup final defeat
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Indian captain Rohit Sharma recalled the 2023 World Cup final defeat
- Australia beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad
- India won 10 games in a row before the final
As India once again begins their pursuit of winning an ICC trophy in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the wounds of the 2023 Cricket World Cup final heartbreak are still fresh among players as well as fans across the country, as the defeat against Australia last year still invokes painful memories.
The Men in Blue had a dream campaign on home soil as they dominated the tournament and won all nine games in the league stage by fairly comfortable margins. Later, the hosts defeated New Zealand in the semi-final and entered the final as red-hot favorites with 10 wins in a row.
However, the summit clash in front of a jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad did not go to plan as Australia stunned the Rohit Sharma-led team to win a record-extending sixth World Cup title under Pat Cummins’ captaincy.
Rohit Sharma Recalls ‘Bad Dream’
One visual that no Indian cricket fan will forget quickly is of skipper Rohit Sharma in visible tears after the match ended. Across the competition, Rohit was in red-hot form with the bat, with his aggressive starts gaining him praise from across the cricket fraternity, while his captaincy was also appreciated.
Recalling the defeat, Indian captain Rohit stated that the thought of losing the final never even occurred to him before the game. The Indian cricket legend stated he was in no mood to stay on the ground after the defeat and wanted to go back home.
“We were jokingly talking about it, ‘oh we’ve been unbeaten so far…’ Before the final, the thought of losing never even occurred to us. We had the belief that we had been playing really good cricket, we will run through. We will keep going in the same direction.
“I ran (towards dressing room after the loss). I was in no mood to stay there. Honestly, I just wanted this so badly. I mean, when you want something so desperately and you’re not getting it, you get frustrated. You get disappointed. You get angry, you get all these negative thoughts running through your head. At that moment, you can’t even think of what’s happened in life. You don’t understand that. You just want to go home,” said Rohit in a video to Addias India.
The Indian captain revealed his chat with wife Ritika Sajdeh after waking up the next morning, and he claimed he felt it was a bad dream.
“Next day, when I woke up, I had no idea what had happened the night before. I couldn’t understand it. I was discussing it with my wife and I said, ‘whatever happened last night was a bad dream, right? I think the final is tomorrow’. It took me 2-3 days to realise and process that yes, we have indeed lost the World Cup. Now we have to wait another four years for another chance,” said Rohit.
