Former head coach of the Indian cricket team, Vikram Rathour, has rejected claims that a manipulated pitch was used for the final match of the 2023 ODI World Cup against Australia. This issue arose after India’s unexpected defeat in the final, which took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, entered the tournament having won ten matches in a row without a loss. In the final, they were the first to bat and were all out for 240 runs in 50 overs. Australia then easily reached this target in 43 overs, with Travis Head scoring an impressive 137 runs from 120 balls. This victory meant Australia won the match by six wickets and became the ODI World Cup champions for the sixth time, setting a new record.
After India’s surprising loss, many people criticized the field where the final match was played. Fans were upset with captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for choosing a slow field. Vikram Rathour has now talked about the accusations that the field was changed on purpose. He said that the team thought the field would get slower during the game, but it actually got better for batting.
Rathour said, “I’ve heard people say the field was different, but I don’t agree with that. In the final, the field got better as the game went on. We thought it would get slower, but it didn’t. Why did that happen? Yes, we could have scored more runs. There are many what-ifs, but one thing is clear: you need some luck to win a tournament. And on that day, Australia was luckier than us. They played better cricket than us. That’s why they won,” Rathour told Sportstar.
Before the first semi-final, there was another issue when India was set to play against New Zealand. It was said that the host country decided to switch the playing field for the important match, and the ICC agreed to their request. The new field led to an exciting game where both teams scored more than 300 points, and India won by 70 runs.
