From No. 1 Test bowler’s exclusion to a crumbling batting line up: 5 Reasons Why India Lost at the WTC Final 2023

After losing to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 on Sunday, India’s quest for their first ICC championship since 2013 was extended. At The Oval London, Rohit Sharma & Co. suffered a 209 loss after failing to reach their massive 444-run total after being bowled out for 234.

In a period of four years, India has lost the WTC Final twice in a row. They fell short of New Zealand in the opening match in Southampton by an 8-wicket margin in 2021. Australia, on the other hand, claimed the coveted mace and made cricket history by becoming the first side to win every ICC championship.

Australia put on a professional effort in a neutral setting, but India continued to lose all five days. Within hours of the play’s beginning, the choice to ball first went awry. While there was some success for the pacers when the sun was still hidden by clouds, India never had a chance to recover. Australia won the Ultimate Test thanks to a 251-run partnership between Travis Head and Steve Smith, a solid bowling attack in both innings, and some significant cameos from the middle-order hitters in the second innings.

Having said that, we have combined a list of 5 top reasons why India Lost at the WTC Final 2023. Here take a look:

Reasons India Lost at the WTC Final 2023

1. India probably Misread the Conditions and lacked a proper plan

India won the toss and going by the overcast conditions and the grass cover on the track, they straightaway put Australia to bat first. But to their dismay, they couldn’t do justice to their decision. Bowling on the wrong length and giving too much room to the opponent batters gradually took the game away from India’s grip right on day one.

Even head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that his bowlers could never apply what was actually planned and ultimately, the team paid a heavy price on the final day of the game.

2. Number 1 Test bowler: R. Ashwin left out ahead of a major event

Both analysts and fans found it difficult to comprehend that Ravichandran Ashwin was not given a game. Sourav Ganguly claimed that if he had been the captain, it would have been difficult for him to remove someone of Ashwin’s caliber, while the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Vaughan, and a number of other former players thought it was a grave error.

When Ravindra Jadeja, the solitary spinner in the lineup, had the least amount of success in the first innings, the error was ultimately identified. Given the number of left-handers in the Australian lineup—five to be exact—Ashwin had to be included in India’s starting lineup.

3. A crumbling batting lineup that could never stand still against a masterful bowling side

While the absence of R Aswhin was the primary topic of conversation on the first day, India’s high-profile batting lineup was largely to blame for their loss in the championship match.

In the crucial game, the top four players, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Kohli, came up short.

Indian supporters entered day five of the chase for a record 444 runs at The Oval full of optimism thanks to Kohli (49) and Ajinkya Rahane (46).

Boland’s dismissal of Kohli and Jadeja (0) in the seventh over of the morning, though, effectively ended India’s chances of winning. India began the day at 164 for three and needed another 280 runs to pull off the unlikely victory.

4. The dire injury scare was major reason why India Lost WTC Final

Rishabh Pant was without a doubt the player who India most desperately needed in the game. The 2021 Gabba match is a legendary illustration of his significance, and anytime the Indian batsmen were having problems, videos of the game appeared on social media.

The same was true with Bumrah, whose absence greatly hurt India. Shreyas Iyer, who scored a record-breaking amount of runs on his debut, was also absent. Rahane was duly inserted in his stead, but nobody supported the experienced batsman, particularly in the second innings.

5. How can practice be optional ahead of such a massive match?

India fought back hard in the second innings with the ball but the bowlers were erratic in the first innings, allowing Australia to pile on 469 on the first two days. Siraj, Shami, Shardul, Umesh and Jadeja were just not able to stop the likes of Head, Smith, Alex Carey and Marnus Labuschagne as they made India toil hard on the field.

This was a significant after effect of a long IPL season. No wonder why former India head coach Ravi Shastri had to ask BCCI to get their priorities straight. Whether it is making the national team prepare for an ICC championship final or play their blood and sweat in the cash-rich tournament.

On top of that, I couldn’t understand the ‘optional practice rule’ the management had offered leading up to such a massive event. It wasn’t a month-long tournament that one would need ‘vacations’ in between. It was a five-day Test match. Not to mention but our national team couldn’t practice for 15 days and had kept watching the FA Cup final on their list.

Final words on why India Lost WTC Final

India had only themselves to blame for yet another defeat in a major competition since Australia was obviously the superior team on all fronts. India won their previous ICC championship back in 2013, which was their second straight loss in the World Test Championship final after losing to New Zealand two years prior.

With all its financial clout and fanfare around game, India once again fell short when it counted the most, continuing its dismal performance in ICC competitions with a 209-run thrashing at the hands of Australia in the WTC final on Sunday.

Suggestively, it is better to not play the blame game and focus on what’s next for the team as a whole: ODI World Cup at home.

Thank you for reading.