WTC trophy remains elusive for India as Australia bundled out Rohit Sharma-led team for 234. Australia had won by 209 runs. While in the first innings, Aus scored 469 runs vs India which scored 296, the second innings saw Australia declaring at 270 runs while India could only score 234
WTC 2023 final was a crucial Test match series for the Indian team which has been unable to lift the WTC trophy in the past. New Zealand which was holding the previous title of WTC handed over the WTC trophy to Pat Cummins and his team
India’s top order failed to perform
- Ajinkya Rahane scored 89 on Day 3
- Kohli was caught at slips by Steve Smith for 49, while Jadeja was caught-behind for a duck
- Shardul Thakur, who scored a half-century in the first innings, was unable to perform
- Australian stars Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon were among the star players
- Winning Team Australia were awarded a cash prize of $1.6 million
- Australia won the WTC trophy and ICC Test Mace
- Team India (First runners-up) won $800,000
- Travis Head – Player of the Match (163 off 174 balls in first innings, 18 off 27 balls in second innings)
Sachin Tendulkar remained unconvinced with Team India’s performance at The Oval. “India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn't. There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of R. Ashwin in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world,” he tweeted
Shubman Gill’s dismissal on WTC Day 4 kicked the hornet's nest. The replay showed that Cameron Green’s finger wasn’t under the ball when it touched the ground. Fans were left in disbelief as Gill's dismissal remained on of the top trends on social media
Yuvraj Singh congratulated Team Australia “Look at what it means to this group of players. Two long and hard years of work, competing and winning Test matches all around the world has gone into this today. Disappointment for India but they’ve been completely outplayed here at The Oval by a very good Australian cricket team”
Rohit Sharma has called for a 3-match WTC final. He said. "I would like to play the 3-Test match series for the WTC Final. We worked hard and we fought but we played just 1 game". Pat Cummins responded to it saying, "I think it's fine. No qualms. I think ideally you'd have 50-match series but the Olympics have come down to one race to win a gold medal. AFL, NRL seasons have finals. That's sport."
After Team India's debacle in WTC 2023, Virat Kohli wrote a cryptic post which read as, “If we have too many worries, fears, and doubts, we have no room for living and loving. We need to practice letting go."
The final of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship was the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship. This is India’s second WTC defeat following New Zealand's win in the previous segment
Meanwhile, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier is set to begin on June 18 in Zimbabwe on June 18. ICC has shared the squads for all the participating teams who will be playing against each other for the two remaining spots in World Cup 2023