Top 5 mistakes that cost India dearly in ODI World Cup 2023 final

Rohit Sharma, the India team and its fans were left heartbroken after they lost the ODI World Cup 2023 final on Sunday. Australia led by Pat Cummins won their sixth World Cup title by 6 wickets owing to a terrific game play by Travis Head.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad wore a somber look as the winning runs were hit. Mohammed Siraj broke down in tears on the field, while the other players showed their emotions only in the dressing room.

Here are the top five mistakes that costed India in the ODI World Cup 2023 final.

Not picking Ravichandran Ashwin for the game –

The selection of Ravichandran Ashwin for the ODI World Cup 2023 was hotly debated. India’s veteran bowler played just one game against Australia in Chennai and picked just one wicket. Considering the Australian openers were both left-handers, the decision to not include Ravichandran Ashwin was a move, the India team had to pay for.

Persisting with Suryakumar Yadav –

There is no doubt that Suryakumar Yadav is an amazing T20 player, but his form in ODI hasn’t hit the same lofty heights. Barring his 49 against England, the 33-year-old hadn’t done much of note to deserve a place in the final.

On Sunday, Suryakumar Yadav struggled to score runs and showed lack of maturity while farming the strike. This proved to be a major mistake from Team India as they had Ishan Kishan, who could have played the game instead of his Mumbai Indians teammate.

Rohit Sharma throwing away another good start –

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has been lauded for his selfless start to the innings. Against Australia on Sunday, the 36-year-old began in his self-cavalier method. Just when it seemed Rohit Sharma was on his way to score a huge ton, he was carelessly out for 47 runs.

That wicket during the early overs of the match, contributed to the downfall of the Indian team in the final match of the ODI World Cup. The pitch in Lucknow was more or less similar but the India team captain got carried away after hitting a six and a four in the two previous balls. In a bid to put pressure on the Australians, Rohit Sharma’s careless shot hurt the India team's chances.

Ravindra Jadeja’s lack of game awareness –

It was a huge moment for Ravindra Jadeja to stamp his class with the bat. Just one ball before the 34-year-old had got a huge slice of luck when DRS found no edge off the bat. In the next ball Ravindra Jadeja walked down the wicket to Josh Hazlewood and nicked behind Josh Inglis to put India under huge pressure.

With a lot of overs to play, had Jadeja stayed there till the end, India could have scored in excess of 260 runs. This was the fourth mistake that costed the Indian team committed in the ODI World Cup 2023 final.

Lack of discipline with the new ball –

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah nearly gave away 30 runs in the first two overs of the Australia chase. There were a few wild wide-balls and an early catch went away for a four in the 1st ball of the Australian chase.

Unlike their previous ten matches, the Indian bowling broke down in the biggest game of the tournament. It was also worth noting that Mohammed Siraj wasn’t given the new ball when he has a track record of doing well against left-handers. This was the fifth and most crucial mistake of the India team in the ODI World Cup final.