Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, was visibly emotional after India's loss to Australia in the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Despite India posting a competitive total of 240 while batting first and initially having Australia at 55/3, Travis Head's stunning century and Marnus Labuschagne's fifty led to Australia clinching victory by six wickets. The images and videos of Rohit Sharma in tears has gone viral on social media platforms.
After the match concluded, Rohit and Mohammed Siraj were observed heading back to the dressing room, both visibly emotional. While Siraj didn’t make much of an effort to hide his emotions, Rohit quickly climbed the stairs toward the dressing room soon after completing the customary handshakes.
India Played Like Champions In World Cup 2023 But Lost The Final
India displayed exceptional cricket throughout the tournament, being touted as favourites to secure the title. Nevertheless, Australia's superior performance on the final day resulted in their sixth World Cup win. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showcased remarkable performances, with Kohli accumulating 765 runs and Rohit contributing nearly 600 runs, playing pivotal roles in India's undefeated journey to the final.
The veteran duo, possibly in their last World Cup, aimed to secure the trophy, but Australia outperformed the Men In Blue when it mattered most. This defeat also extended India's drought for an ICC trophy since their Champions Trophy win in 2013 under MS Dhoni's leadership. Despite multiple semi-final and final appearances, India haven't clinched a title since then.
Reflecting on the loss, Rohit Sharma acknowledged Australia's superiority on the day, stating: "The result has not gone our way. We were not good enough today. We tried everything but it wasn't supposed to be. 20-30 runs more would have been good, KL and Kohli were stitching a good partnership and we were looking at 270-280 but we kept losing wickets. When you have 240 on the board, you want to take wickets but credit to Head and Labuschagne for putting us out of the game, but I feel wicket got slightly better to bat under lights. Don't want to give that as an excuse. We didn't put enough runs on the board. Credit to those two guys in the middle for putting up an outstanding partnership."