Legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara heaped praise on Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and the team for their exceptional performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 and believes that the team did not face any significant difficulties throughout the tournament.
The Men in Blue finished first in the round-robin stage, having won all nine games. They also defeated high-quality sides like Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa convincingly.
Despite a strong performance by New Zealand in the semi-finals, Rohit Sharma’s team won by 70 runs. The Australians won a record sixth trophy with a victory over the immensely powerful hosts.
The Caribbean legend Brian Lara also emphasized that a team like Australia has the ability to exploit any shortcomings of the opposing team. He mentioned that the India vs Australia final match was a brilliant spectacle to watch and he’d be supporting the ‘Men in Blue’ in the next ODI World Cup and expressed his hope that India would win the prestigious trophy in the future.
“I won’t say they are struggling. They played their best cricket in the World Cup. I think what we experience is how powerful what we perceive to be failure is – which is the Australians losing a couple of matches, understanding where they had to play, and where they have to improve.
“India – everything is going in their direction and obviously they just had to play their best cricket to come out on top,” Brian Lara said.
“But sometimes, you come up short on one occasion, and against a team like Australia, you can’t let them in. I think it was a great final. Unfortunately, our team didn’t win. I too supported India and wanted to see them raise the trophy. But hopefully next time,” Brian Lara said.
Australia won the 2023 Men’s One-Day International World Cup with a six-wicket victory over hosts India in Ahmedabad. Following a difficult start to the season, Australia turned it on and won the title for the sixth time.
Meanwhile, after being undefeated throughout the league, winning all 10 matches up to the summit clash, India played their poorest cricket on the marquee final.
The next ODI World Cup is scheduled for 2027, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already announced a few alterations to the structure.
It will be staged in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and while it promises to be a better version of the main event, it may require even more improvements to realize the full potential of the top nations.
