India Player Ratings from 2023 World Cup Final vs Australia as Men in Blue suffer heartbreak at the last hurdle
Team India's dominant run in the 2023 World Cup didn't end with the trophy as Australia beat them by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.
After Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl, the hosts struggled to come to terms with a sluggish surface. Despite fifties from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, the Men in Blue managed only 240, a score that was chased down by the Aussies in admittedly better batting conditions.
Travis Head was the star of the show as he blasted a century to take the game away from India. Marnus Labuschagne chipped in with a calming fifty as well.
On that note, here are India's player ratings from the 2023 World Cup Final against Australia.
World Cup 2023: Rahul, Kohli hit fifties for Team India
Rohit Sharma: 7.5/10
Rohit's powerplay impetus was once again of utmost importance to India's eventual total as batting became more difficult in the middle overs. His assault on Josh Hazlewood went a long way in the hosts finding momentum.
However, having already taken 10 runs off the two preceding balls, why did he try to take on Glenn Maxwell once again? The skipper's dismissal could be chalked down to his maverick approach, but having already secured runs for the over, he should've been more cautious on a tough track.
Shubman Gill: 1/10
Gill played a nothing shot to be dismissed, caught at mid-on while trying to pull on a surface that was clearly not conducive to shots of that kind. The young opener couldn't deliver in the 2023 World Cup Final, a contest that seemed tailormade for his success.
Virat Kohli: 8/10
Kohli calmed India's nerves after Gill's wicket as he found three boundaries in a row off Mitchell Starc. Just when it seemed like he was in complete control, though, he somehow managed to play one onto his stumps. It was an unfortunate dismissal for the No. 3 batter, who also bizarrely didn't go for a catch at first slip in the first ball of the Australian innings.
KL Rahul: 8.5/10
Like Kohli, Rahul reduced the tempo of the innings and tried to shepherd India through a tricky phase. The keeper-batter made an important 66 before being bamboozled by a beauty from Starc. His wicket-keeping, however, was uncharacteristically sloppy under the lights.
Shreyas Iyer: 2/10
Shreyas hung back in his crease, and that was always going to end in only one way against a bowler of Pat Cummins' quality. The in-form batter's excellent run was broken by a disappointing single-digit score in the final.
Suryakumar Yadav: 3/10
Suryakumar didn't have much support at the other end, but he didn't do himself any favors by parking himself at the non-striker's end. Despite shots behind the wicket being increasingly difficult as the innings wore on, he repeatedly tried to access the backward square region. The SKY experiment didn't work for India in the 2023 World Cup.
Ravindra Jadeja: 2/10
Jadeja couldn't impress with both bat and ball. Reverse swing and dew got the better of him in the two innings respectively.
Kuldeep Yadav: 4/10
On a slow deck, Kuldeep was too slow through the air to make an impact as the Aussie batters negotiated him off the back foot. When he tried to lure them forward, Travis Head, for one, smashed him into the stands. His 10 wicketless overs went for 56 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah: 8/10
Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers and was unlucky not to get more rewards for his probing spell. He scalped two important wickets and gave India a real chance of worming their way back into the second innings.
Mohammed Siraj: 5/10
Not given the new ball, Siraj was never going to be amongst the wickets. He bowled seven overs that went for 45 runs and dismissed Head when the game was well and truly done.
Mohammed Shami: 3/10
Shami picked a terrible day to bowl arguably his worst spell of the 2023 World Cup. His control let him down, and he appeared to be searching for wickets instead of sticking to the basics. It was all downhill after he gave India's first breakthrough by having David Warner caught at slip.