In the aftermath of India's disappointing loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 final on November 19, former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram shared his insights, highlighting the middle-order's lack of aggression as a key factor in India's defeat at Narendra Modi Stadium.
A week has passed since the heart-wrenching defeat, yet the cricketing world remains abuzz with discussions about Australia's commanding victory. The tournament hosts had a flawless record, securing ten wins in ten matches, including a decisive triumph over New Zealand in the semi-final. However, Australia's stellar all-round performance in the summit clash denied India the coveted trophy.
Batting first, Indian batters managed only 240 runs, with KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill contributing fifties. While Rahul exhibited composure, scoring 66 runs, his slow pace (107 balls) hampered India's quest for a substantial total. Rahul faced criticism for his defensive approach, with many attributing India's loss to it. Ravindra Jadeja and Suryakumar Yadav also failed to make an impact in the final, reflecting in the team's total.
Wasim Akram, however, defended Rahul's batting, explaining that the wicketkeeper-batter aimed to bat deep due to the absence of a specialist batter after Jadeja. "If I have to pick any particular reason, I suppose the middle order should have played with a ‘do or die’ mindset," Wasim told Star Sports. "I can understand what was going through Rahul’s mind, that there was no batting to come after Jadeja and that he had to bat deep, and batting deep meant he couldn’t take risks of getting out.
"If possibly Hardik was in the team, Rahul probably would take that risk. But, if he had taken a risk and gotten out in this situation, then people would have criticised him for that as well."
Had Hardik Pandya been in the team, Akram speculated that Rahul might have taken more risks. Nevertheless, Akram acknowledged Rahul's overall tournament performance, with 452 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.33 and a strike rate of 90.76. Rahul silenced critics by smashing a 62-ball century against the Netherlands, marking the fastest ODI World Cup century for India.
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