“We were not defensive” - Rahul Dravid on Team India’s below-par batting effort in the 2023 World Cup final

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has disagreed with the observation that the Men in Blue were defensive with the bat in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia. The Indian legend stated that the team needed to rebuild after losing a few key wickets.

India went down to Australia by six wickets in the summit clash of the 2023 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Sent into bat first on a sluggish surface, the hosts struggled and only managed 240 on the board.

Skipper Rohit Sharma (47 off 31) again got off to a flyer, but Shubman Gill (4) and Shreyas Iyer (4) perished cheaply. Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and KL Rahul (66 off 107) added 67 runs for the fourth wicket, but the big hits dried out during their stand.

At a post-match conference, Dravid reflected on India’s batting approach and commented:

"We played fearless cricket, we had 80 runs in first powerplay. Sometimes, you have to rebuild innings after losing a few wickets, we were not defensive. They also did the same when Head and Labuschagne batted but they did not lose wicket and kept going.”

Dravid, however, admitted that the Men in Blue were at least 40-50 runs short with the bat, adding that the wicket was a pretty good one.

"It was a bit slow to start off with when the sun was on. But I thought it played fine. It was probably a 280, 290 kind of wicket. It wasn't 240. We should have got those 40 extra runs. That might have put more pressure on Australia. Thought it played really well later on as well. So, I thought it was a pretty good wicket. Sometimes looks can be a bit deceiving. Didn't really have that many tricks,” the 50-year-old stated.

While Kohli hit four fours in his knock, Rahul managed only one before being dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the 42nd over.

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“Tough to see as a coach” - Dravid on heartbroken players

Following the defeat in the 2023 World Cup final, Team India players were left heartbroken. Pacer Mohammed Siraj and skipper Rohit Sharma were in tears, while the other members of the team also looked stunned.

Dravid conceded that the loss in yet another ICC final was a bitter pill to swallow for the team.

"Of course disappointed, as are many of the boys in the dressing room. It was tough to see as a coach, because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they've put in, the sacrifices they've made. So, it's tough. I mean, it's tough to see that as a coach, because you get to know these boys personally,” he said.

The Indian coach, however, praised Rohit as a great leader and someone who invested a lot in the team as captain.

"He's been an exceptional leader. You know, Rohit's really led this team fantastically well. He's certainly got the dressing room, he's given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys. He's given a lot of his personal time, energy into this campaign,” Dravid concluded.

Rohit led the way with the bat for India, getting the team off to some blazing starts. He finished the 2023 World Cup with 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95.