ICC World Cup 2023: Key takeaways from India's campaign
The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final turned out to be a heart-breaker for Team India as Australia walked away with their sixth title. The Aussies dominated the summit clash and recorded a comfortable six-wicket triumph in Ahmedabad. Notably, India had entered the game as favorites, having won all their games until the final. Here are the key takeaways from India's campaign.
A near-perfect journey for Team India
India started their campaign with a six-wicket triumph in a low-scoring clash against the Aussies. They then recorded comfortable wins over Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Though the New Zealand game was a close affair, India eventually prevailed. India recorded 100-plus run victories in each of their last four league games. The team defeated NZ in the semi-final to qualify for their fourth WC final.
The Rohit-Kohli show
Two of the finest batters going around, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma finished as the top two leading run-getters in the competition. While the former's tally of 765 runs is the most for a batter in a WC edition, Rohit's strike rate of 125.95 is the highest for a player in a WC edition (Minimum: 500 runs). He finished with 597.
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In his 11 outings, Kohli returned with six fifties and three tons. No other batter has more than seven fifty-plus scores in a WC edition. His consistency was indeed unreal. The talisman even scored a fighting 54 on the night of the final.
Other batters also stepped up
Shreyas Iyer's tally of 530 runs is the second-most for a batter operating at number four or lower in an ODI WC edition (100s: 2, 50s: 3). KL Rahul's tally of 452 runs is the second-most for a player batting at number five or lower in an ODI WC edition (100s: 1, 50s: 2). Shubman Gill accumulated 354 runs at 44.25.
India nailed the powerplay overs
Rohit's fiery batting at the top gave India fiery starts in most games. As per ESPNcricinfo, India's average run rate in the first powerplay was 6.97, the most for any team in the tournament. The Men in Blue crossed the 75-run mark six times in the first 10 overs. India also scalped the most powerplay wickets in the bowling department (24 wickets).
The Mohammed Shami force
After missing out on the first four games, Mohammed Shami got a chance in the XI due to injured Hardik Pandya's ouster. Having played just seven games, he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 24 scalps. He claimed three five-wicket hauls and a solitary four-fer, including a career-best 7/57 in the semi-final. His average read a jaw-dropping 10.70.
Other Indian bowlers also fared well
Shami received great support from his fellow bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah, who took 20 wickets, had the best economy rates among bowlers with at least two wickets (4.06). Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj boast 16, 15, and 14 scalps, respectively. Only Siraj had an economy of 5.5-plus among the aforementioned names.
What went wrong for India in the final?
Rohit and Shubman started well for India, but the duo departed before the 100-run mark. Australia controlled the scoring rate in the middle overs as India were bundled out for 240/10. Kohli and Rahul made fifties. In reply, India reduced the Aussies to 47/3. However, a ton from Travis Head meant Australia comfortably crossed the line. Bumrah dismissed two batters.
