After a five-day back-to-back fight on the pitch, Australia finally grabbed the World Test Championship trophy in 2023. The match against India was almost in favor of the Aussies from the beginning. In the beginning, the Indian skipper made a wrong decision choosing the bowling first, and the rivals took advantage.
Finally, Australia showed a real smile of satisfaction beating India by 209 runs on the WTC Final 2023 stage at Kennington Oval, England. A lot of analysts criticized and explained the flow of the entire match. Overall, it was a treat for the Australian spectators to witness their heroes lifting the cup.
Overall WTC final scenario:
Australian pacer Scott Boland exposed a bowling spell of superb quality to dismiss Kohli and Jadeja in the same over. It was so effective that it almost shuttled the door for India. Australia was undoubtedly the better team on all fronts, while India had only themselves to blame for another loss in a heavy-weight match.
India’s last ICC title came in 2013, and it was their second insulting defeat in the WTC final 2023, having gone down against the Kiwis 2 years ago. With this title, Australia has become the first men’s team in cricket history to receive all the ICC trophies across formats. Aussies have won 5 ODI World Cups, 2 Champions Trophies, a single T-20 World Cup, and the Test Championship title.
India lost 7 wickets for the addition of 70 on the fifth day, while the non-selection of R Ashwin was the big controversial point on the opening day. Analysts think that India lost the title contest mainly due to the poor performance of their high-profile batting line-up. The top 4, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Kohli, failed to contribute to the high-stake game.
Chasing a record score of 444 at The Oval was not everyone’s cup of tea. Indian fans entered the fifth day with a higher hope of Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane walking into the pitch. However, Boland removed Jadeja and Kohli in the 7th over. It was enough to shut the door for India, who resumed the day at 164 for 3, needing another 280 runs for an improbable WTC final 2023 win.
India’s tragic fall:
On a surface with surprising bounces, there would always be an awkward ball with the target on the batters. That is exactly what happened with both Kohli and Jadeja. Virat Kohli, looking extremely good in touch on the fourth day of the WTC final 2023, had to make a century if India had to get close to the massive 444. However, Scott Boland’s restless pursuit around the off-stump has added an extra edge to the Aussie attack.
Bowling from the ending side of the pavilion, the bowler delivered one wide, and Kohli went for the drive. Unfortunately, he got caught by a flying Smith at second slip. 2 balls later, the bowler got one to seam away from round the stump, and Jadeja offered an easy catch to the keeper behind, leaving the side at 179/5.
KS Bharat joined Rahane and played a few soothing straight drives off the other side’s skipper to keep the crowd going. Starc drew his length back earlier, and Rahane went hard at a ball he could have ignored to be caught behind. He went back, sealing his team’s fate.
The experienced batter was extremely frustrated, knowing he went for the undecided shot. Shardul Thakur lasted just 5 balls. Then a lbw call from Nathan Lyon to make it 213/7. It seemed the day would last till lunch hour, but the Indian tail-order made the task simpler for the Australians, and they were dismissed in the extra thirty minutes of play.
Winning Captain shares his experience that they were going to choose bowling too. Afterward, the way Travis, Smith, and Head grabbed the condition, the pressure got reduced from the skipper. They were optimistic all around the first day and maintained all their roles on the field. The dedication the bowlers and batters proved on the Final stage was purely appreciable. He added, “When you win, it’s the format you get the most satisfaction from.”
Final verdict:
India again missed their , and Australia became one of the most successful men’s cricket teams with this WTC Final 2023 title. Some wrong decisions probably wrote the fate of Rohit Sharma and his boys.
On the other hand, Starc and co took the benefit and dominated their opposite finalist across the five days. Now it’s time for the Indian team to point out the mistakes, and Australians should celebrate their first victory in the World Test Championship tournament in 2023