“Of course, he (Rohit Sharma) is disappointed, as are many boys in the dressing room…There were a lot of emotions in that dressing room.It was tough to see as a coach because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they have put in, the sacrifices they have made,” said Dravid, who was part of the team that lost the 2003World Cup final to Australia. “It’s tough to see…because you get to know these boys personally, you get to see the effort they put in, the hard work that we have put in over the last month, the kind of cricket we have played,” said the batting legend.
Despite half-centuries by Virat Kohli (54) and KL Rahul (66), India could only put up 240 on the board after being asked to bat first by Australia skipper Pat Cummins, who won the toss.
Australia beat India by 6 wickets, win record-extending 6th title | World Cup 2023 Final | INDvsAUS
India’s bowling, which had been the talk of the town in their 10 consecutive wins before losing in the final, had no answer to the skills of Australia opener Travis Head, who scored a 120-ball 137 to take his team to victory with seven overs to spare.
Head added 192 runs with Marnus Labuschagne (58) after Australia’s run-chase started on the wrong note, losing three wickets for just 47 runs.
“That’s sport…It can happen, and the better team won on the day,” Dravid added.
“I am sure that the sun will come up tomorrow morning. We will learn from it, we will reflect and we will move on, as will everyone else. I mean that is what you do as sportsman. You have some great highs in sport, and you have some lows in sport. You keep moving on. You don’t stop, because if you don’t put yourself on the line, you don’t put yourself in games like these, you don’t experience the great highs, and neither do you experience the great lows. And if you don’t do that, you don’t learn.”
India had won all their nine league matches to qualify for the semis as the top-placed team on the points table. They defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, but couldn’t put it across the Aussies who were clinical in all three departments on the day that mattered the most.
In a video of PM Narendra Modi visiting the team in their dressing room after the match, the Prime Minister could be seen greeting and motivating the players and head coach Dravid, saying “it happens” in sport and urging the players to be each other’s strength in this hour.
PM Modi consoles team India in dressing room after World Cup final loss against Australia
Watch India vs Australia Match Highlights: What went wrong, what was the turning point?