Team India suffered a 209 runs loss against Australia in the World Test Championship final on Sunday, June 11 at The Kennington Oval in London. They were bowled out for 234 runs in the first session on day five of the match. Australia clinched their maiden ICC World Test Championship title. This is their ninth ICC championship win across tournaments.
Batting first, Australia put on a mammoth 469 runs on the board. Travis Head played a blazing knock of 163 runs off 174 deliveries, with 25 boundaries and a six. Steve Smith played a perfect second foil to him scoring 121 runs. Their partnership pushed Team India back early on in the game. In response to Australia’s 469, India was bowled out for 296 runs. Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur slammed the fifties in the innings.
Australia piled on 270 runs, before declaring the innings, handing India a target of 444 runs. The Rohit Sharma-led team started off well but lost three consecutive wickets, which derailed their chase. They were eventually bowled out for 234 runs, with Virat Kohli as the leading run-scorer with 49 runs.
What a performance from Australia! 💪
The best team in the #WTC23 cycle have triumphed against India in the Final ✨
— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2023
Let’s take a look at how Twitterati reacted:
Congratulations to Australia on winning the wtc final ! Outplayed us in all departments of the game . Good to see @ajinkyarahane88 get runs in the middle order great knocks by @stevesmith49 @travishead34 but personally I think travis was sensational my mom!! #WTC2023Final
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) June 11, 2023
The better team in these conditions won. Well played Australia.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 11, 2023
Terribly disappointing performance. First session was always crucial. Aus didn’t put a foot wrong, India bombed badly.
Sobering thought: Since 2013 Champions Trophy, there have been 8 ICC tournaments – 2 ODI WCs, 4 T20 WCs, 2 WTCs. India have drawn a blank in all
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 11, 2023
India got to move on from Rohit, Pujara, Rahane, KS Bharat.
The test team is a shambles.
— . (@Jags94_) June 11, 2023
Where did they fight? Reckless shots. Pathetic selection of not playing Ashwin and not bat to start with.
Then, the way the batsmen got out was way below their skill level https://t.co/yYgWU0rNqW— Basit Subhani (@BasitSubhani) June 11, 2023
Team India's weakness in WTC Finals pic.twitter.com/15KzXA2cRn
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) June 11, 2023
India’s top 4 average was 30-40 for the past WTC cycle. Australia had only 1 less than 40 in past cycle among top 5. India tried multiple individuals yet didn’t prefer Ranji top scorers. They’re hampered by injuries yet don’t have replacements
— The Dark Racer (@dark_racer66) June 11, 2023
Tbh, India were never in the game for the first 2 days. Their bowlers leaked runs, batsman lacked discipline, got out playing loose shots.
I feel the 15 selected for WTC should have skipped last part of the IPL, saw lack of commitment and exhaustion in players. #WTCFinals— Keshav Jha🪶 (@Jhakeshav30) June 11, 2023
ICC WTC is a tournament where all the teams fight against each other to defeat India in the finals
— Zekrom (@rohitzek) June 11, 2023
The problem isn’t the bowling. Hasn’t been the bowling for a few years now. It’s ‘The Batting’ that’s been letting India down. Across formats.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 11, 2023
Hope Indian fans are ready for some hard criticism. This performance deserves it.
Not only for the players, but Board, selection committee, preparations/scheduling, every stakeholders deserve criticism.
Yes, there will be optimism before every series but this is shameful.…
— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) June 11, 2023
Travis Head and Steve Smith’s partnership took the game away from us: Rohit Sharma
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma was visibly disappointed with their performance in the World Test Championship final against Australia. He expressed that they let themselves down in the first innings. Rohit added that Australian batter Steve Smith and Travis Head took the game away from Team India.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the skipper said, “I thought we started well with winning the toss, putting them to bat in those conditions. We bowled well in the first session and then we let ourselves down with how we bowled. Got to give credit to the Australian batters. Head came in and played really well along with Steven Smith. That just took us off guard a little bit. We knew it was always hard to come back, but we put up a good show. We fought till the end.”
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