World Test Championship (2021-23)

'Ab toh adat si hai' - Fans react as India suffer yet another heartbreak, lose to Australia by 209 runs in WTC 2023 Final

Australia beat India by 209 runs on Day 5 at The Oval to clinch their maiden Test Championship title in the 2021-2023 cycle.

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Akshay
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WTC final

WTC final (Source: Twitter)

WTC final WTC final (Source: Twitter)

Australia registered an emphatic 209-run win over India at The Oval on Sunday to lift their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) title in the 2021-2023 cycle. As India's heartbreak in Cricket Governing Body tournaments continued, Australia claimed their ninth major trophy, adding the only missing silverware to the cabinet. The Kangaroos made history in England by becoming the first team to win all the global governing body trophies.

Pat Cummins and Co were the favourites to win, and they did so. India won the toss and opted to field first and they fielded four seamers, dropping World No 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin. The Indian pacers started well, dismissing Usman Khawaja early in the innings, but David Warner and Marnes Labuschagne got through the first hour.

Travis Head and Steve Smith then formed a formidable partnership, with the former scoring a century on the opening day. Day 2 began with Smith scoring his 31st Test century, followed by Head's fourth 150. The Indian bowlers somehow got both of them out, but the damage was already done as they helped the team post a massive score of 469 on the board.

Rahane, Thakur lift Team India after top-order collapse in first innings

India's first innings got off to a disastrous start, with the top order falling for low scores. However, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja formed a brilliant partnership to give India some hope. India avoided the follow-on on Day 3, thanks to Rahane and Shardul Thakur's century partnership. The latter fell 11 runs short of a well-deserved century, while Thakur completed his half-century. Australia restricted India to 296 in the first innings and took a lead of 173 runs.

Indian bowlers were well-disciplined in the second innings as they picked up four key wickets. However, they added runs a little faster on Day 4, allowing captain Pat Cummins to declare with a target of 444. Indian openers showed the intent right from the start, scoring at a rapid pace. But Shubman Gill had to leave in the form of a controversial umpiring decision. Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara then formed a solid partnership but threw away their wickets in quick succession.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane played patiently and forged an unbeaten fifty partnership to take the game to the final day. India needed 280 runs and Australia needed seven wickets to win. Both started well but Scott Boland triggered the collapse by dismissing Kohli and Jadeja in the same over in the first hour. Mitchell Starc then dismissed Rahane to end the last hope of the Indian fans.

Here's how fans reacted after India lost to Australia in the WTC 2023 final:ย 

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