When India played Australia in the World Cup 2023 final, Rohit Sharma was just a teenager. Like millions of Indians, Rohit was left disheartened as Ricky Ponting’s side won the game one-sided in Johannesburg. 20 years later, leading a lethal Indian lineup consisting of match-winners, a red-hot unbeaten India still came up short and lost the match one-sided by six wickets at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. As the reality sank in after Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs and the customary handshakes were completed, Rohit walked back to the dressing room trying to evade the cameras following his movement struggling to hold back his tears.
Rohit finished the tournament as India’s second-highest run-scorer. He was lauded by many for setting the tone against the new-ball bowlers and the belief he had in his attacking approach. Rohit scored 597 runs from 11 innings at an average of 54.27 including one century and three half-centuries. He batted with a strike rate of 125.94. He broke the record for most runs by a captain in a single World Cup edition held by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
After Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first, Rohit once again decided to take on Australia’s new-ball bowlers. After bagging a duck against Australia in India’s World Cup 2023 opener in Chennai, he took on Josh Hazlewood and hit him for two fours in the second over. He was not afraid of dancing down the track and disrupting bowlers’ length. He hit the first six of the innings in the fourth over. He hit Starc for a six as well and dominated Maxwell when he was introduced. But he took one chance too many and miscued a shot against the off-spinner. Head took a fantastic catch running back from cover-point position. The skipper departed after scoring 47 runs from 31 balls including four fours and three sixes.
After Rohit’s wicket, a boundary drought followed in the middle overs. Despite Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s half-centuries, India managed to post 240 on the board which was chased down by Australia with seven overs to spare.
