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Team India faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Australia in the final of the 2023 World Cup on Sunday. After an invincible run in the tournament that saw Rohit Sharma’s men clinching 10 wins in as many matches, India collapsed in the final frontier to concede a six-wicket loss in Ahmedabad. On a typically slow surface, Aussie captain Pat Cummins invited India to bat first – a decision that would eventually play a key role in the result, as the home team was bowled out for 240 before Australia chased down the target with seven overs to spare.
The Australian bowlers were immaculate with their bowling strategies and kept the flow of runs in check; after striking blows at regular intervals throughout the innings, Australia employed a terrific slower-ball tactic against Suryakumar Yadav, restricting the batter from scoring his preferred scoring shots. Consequently, the right-handed India star could only score 18 off 28 deliveries before being dismissed in the 48th over.
Following the loss, a number of star India players went their separate ways for much-needed rest after a hectic tournament, but Suryakumar, along with Ishan Kishan, will stay with the side for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. Interestingly, Suryakumar will lead the Indian team in the series; Shreyas Iyer, who was also part of the Indian team at the World Cup, will join the side for the last two matches of the series.
Suryakumar addressed the press conference ahead of the first T20I in Visakhapatnam, and was asked how he processed the loss in the marquee tournament’s final.
“It is a little disappointing, obviously. At the end, when you look back at the journey, it was a really great campaign. Every member, not only the players, all of India were very proud of the way we displayed our talent on the ground. That was the positive, the brand of cricket that we played throughout the tournament. And we are really proud of that,” Suryakumar said.
When asked about the prospect of returning to the field merely three days after the crushing loss in the final, Suryakumar stated that it won’t be easy but one has to “move on.”
“It is difficult. It will take time. It can’t be that you get up next morning, and forget everything that happened. It was a long tournament. Obviously, we would have loved to win. But you got to look at the light at the end of the tunnel. You have to forget, and move on. It is a fresh team, with new boys and new energy. So, we are looking forward to this series,” said the India captain for the T20I series.
The first of five matches will be played on November 23, following which both teams will move to Thiruvananthapuram for the second T20I.
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