Ahmedabad: Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma was seen consoling Virat Kohli after India lost to Australia by six wickets in the ODI World Cup 2023 final on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the picture of which went viral. Australia thus won a record-extending sixth World Cup title, stretching their dominance in the tournament that started way back in 1975.
Kohli has been truly exceptional throughout the tournament. Starting from the first game till the last, Kohli was Mr. Consistent for the Men in Blue scoring nine fifty-plus scores in the competition. He also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record with 50th ODI hundred. He finished the tournament with 765 runs.
Earlier, put in to bat, India ended up with a below-par 240 despite contributions from Rohit Sharma (47 off 31 balls), Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and K L Rahul (66 off 107). Just like his performance in the WTC final against India in June, Travis Head made a match-winning 137 off 120 balls as Australia chased down the target in 43 overs.
Virat Kohli hugging Anushka Sharma. pic.twitter.com/ZlhSVhWzGn
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 19, 2023
Indian hopes were raised when Australia lost three wickets for 47 but a 192-run partnership between Head and Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) shut the door on the opposition. Australia’s brilliant bowling and fielding also went a long way in their emphatic win. The dew in the evening also made batting easier on a slow and dry surface.
India, who were the only unbeaten side going into the final after 10 wins on the trot, fell flat in the final hurdle. Their last world title came way back in 2011 and their last ICC trophy was the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013.
India’s defeats in the ICC events over the past decade include the loss in 2014 World T20 final, 2016 World T20 semifinal, 2017 Champions Trophy final, 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal, 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal and back-to-back runners-up finish in the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championship cycle.
