GAINS OF A LOSS

A TACTICALLY BRILLIANT AUSTRALIA AND AN ILL-CHOSEN PITCH MAY HAVE BEEN THEIR UNDOING IN THE FINAL, BUT INDIA 2023 WAS A TEAM THAT HAD MUCH GOING FOR IT 

- NIKHIL NAZ

The pre-match talk ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup finals circled around whether the men in blue, led by Rohit Sharma, were the strongest Indian ODI team ever. No one bothered with headto-head comparisons between India and Australia; instead, the only match-ups that interested the pundits were 'India in 1983' vs 'India in 2011' vs 'India 2023'. The verdict was unanimous, with scales heavily tilted in favour of the current Indian bunch. But as soon as the dust settled and Australia were crowned six-time world champions, the question that popped up was: 'How will history remember India's class of 2023 after they dominated the tournament so thoroughly, only to fall short at the final hurdle?'

JASPRIT BUMRAH 
THE RENEWABLE ROCKET

Jasprit Bumrah's return to international cricket happened just before the World Cup, so there were doubts about him being the same lethal force. However, the wily pacer showed that injuries have not caused him to lose a beat as he was at his imperious best through the course of the tournament-he took 20 wickets at an economy of 4.06 and an average of 18.65. It was not a surprise that he was part of the World Cup best XI team picked by the ICC