'We Should Be Proud': Sunil Gavaskar Lauds India’s Efforts After World Cup Final Defeat to Australia

Sunil Gavaskar reckons Australia have deservingly won the ICC ODI World Cup as they were superior to India across every department on the day of the final. Gavaskar, however, hailed the Indian team for their top-notch performance throughout the campaign.

The Men in Blue secured 10 victories on the trot and entered the summit clash as the favourites. But they could not negotiate Australia’s grit and determination and ended up suffering a 6-wicket defeat in front of a sea of blue in Ahmedabad. Gavaskar, who was part of the World Cup’s commentary panel, was present at the ground on Sunday to cover the final match.

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After the on-field proceedings were folded up, Gavaskar engaged in a chat with the broadcaster from the sidelines of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During the conversation, the cricketer-turned-pundit revealed that he was quite proud of Team India’s performance, even though the dream of lifting the third ODI World Cup remained unfulfilled.

“I’m sad but we should be mighty proud of this Indian team. Sometimes it doesn’t go our way, but they’ve played excellent cricket. I’m super proud of them. No shame in losing to a better team, Australia were a much better side today,” Sunil Gavaskar explained to the official broadcaster.

Australia began the day on a positive note as their captain Pat Cummins won the toss and the visitors elected to bat first on the tricky Ahmedabad surface. India skipper Rohit Sharma came in to open the innings with the same intent he showed in the previous World Cup matches. He fired up the show during the powerplay, despite losing the wicket of Shubman Gill early. However, a mistimed attempt put an end to Rohit’s blazing innings at 47 runs.

Shreyas Iyer also had a forgettable outing as the middle-order batter could contribute only 4 runs to the scoresheet. Following his dismissal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul began the rescue operation. Thanks to their gritty knocks, India could reach 240 runs in 50 overs.

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While it was looking like an easy task for Australia, the visitors found themselves in a tricky situation after losing three wickets in quick succession. India’s frontline pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were responsible for the early damage.

The hosts, however, failed to replicate the performance in the latter half of the chase. Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne gave themselves time to soak in the pressure. The duo stitched a match-winning 192-run partnership that helped Australia chase down the target in 43 overs.