‘Yeh dukh kahe khatam nahi hoti’ – Indian fans disappointed as Australia win WTC 2021-23 final by 209 runs

India, once again, finished on the losing end of a major final as Australia thrashed India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final at the Oval, London. Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first. Australia posted a massive 469 runs in their first innings before being bowled out by the Indian bowlers.

Travis Head top-scored with 163 off 174 balls, while Steve Smith with 121 off 268 was right behind him. As for the Indian bowlers, Mohammed Siraj remained the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-108. Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami returned with two wickets each while Ravindra Jadeja bagged one. Umesh Yadav remained wicketless in the first innings.

In response, India could only manage 296 before being bundled out by the mighty Australians. Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 89 off 129. Shardul Thakur scored a half-century and Ravindra Jadeja fell short of his by two runs. Skipper Pat Cummins remained the best bowler for Australia with figures of 3/83. Cameron Green, Scott Boland, and Mitchell Starc bagged two each while Nathan Lyon scalped one.

Nathan Lyon recorded match-winning figures of 4/41 in the fourth innings

With a lead of 173 runs, the Aussies came out to bat again. With handy contributions from Marnus Labuschagne (41), Steve Smith (34), Alex Carey (66), and Mitchell Starc (41), the Aussies declared their innings at 270/8, setting India a nearly impossible target to chase 444 runs.

In reply, India came out to bat for one last time. However, they fell short of the target by 210 runs as they were bowled out for 234 runs. Virat Kohli with 49 off 78 remained the top-scorer for India. At the same time, Ajinkya Rahane (46 off 108) and Rohit Sharma (43 off 60) were the other batters who found decent starts but could not register a 50+ score.

For Australia, Nathan Lyon recorded the best figures of 4/41, while Scott Boland followed him closely with 3/46. Mitchell Starc scalped two while skipper Pat Cummins only found one with Cameron Green going wicketless. In the end, Australia won the match by 209 runs, handing India their second defeat in their second WTC Final.

Here’s how fans reacted:  

https://twitter.com/dikhhat_hai_/status/1667858844314378241

SACK ROHIT

— Kohlified. (@123perthclassic) June 11, 2023

https://twitter.com/doctor_jango/status/1667858662897983488

Nation misses the Lion pic.twitter.com/oizAfcWsPy

— ً (@StarLight_VJ) June 11, 2023

Allhamdulillah pic.twitter.com/pmhQ0MpsO3

— Marnus Labuschagne (@SaaDSFSO2) June 11, 2023

https://twitter.com/is23383628/status/1667858626386759687

Vadapav becomes the second Indian skipper to lose both T20 WC and WTC

— Robert Stevenson (@Sk__4862) June 11, 2023

Poor captaincy by Rohit Sharma
Sack Vadapav Asap pic.twitter.com/rEHwaKtMdx

— Aarav (@sigma__male_) June 11, 2023