Rahul Dravid, the former head coach of India, emphasised the part of the notorious final that gets less attention. The entire tournament was dominated by Indian pacers, but November 19, 2023, was not their night. Head was hurrying at the crease when they picked David Warner to defend a target of 241. He was tormented by Jasprit Bumrah’s length balls, and it was evident that he was struggling as Mohammed Shami converted the eighth over into a maiden with the head on strike.
At the beginning of an innings, every batter experiences butterflies in his stomach while confronting the fresh ball, regardless of the legacy he has left behind. Even the easygoing Virender Sehwag has acknowledged feeling uneasy when he first opened. Travis Head guided Australia through the ODI World Cup 2023 final, but there were times when he was on the verge of giving up.
Rahul Dravid, the former head coach of India, emphasised the part of the notorious final that gets less attention. The entire tournament was dominated by Indian pacers, but November 19, 2023, was not their night. Head was hurrying at the crease when they picked David Warner to defend a target of 241. He was tormented by Jasprit Bumrah’s length balls, and it was evident that he was struggling as Mohammed Shami converted the eighth over into a maiden with the head on strike.
Rahul Dravid noted that India’s luck was not in as the Australian batsman missed around fifteen deliveries in the first over.
“I recall that we struck out Travis Head’s bat fifteen times without letting him touch a ball. It’s true that occasionally things will go your way, but you still need to follow the procedure. I’ve had time to consider it. I’ve had time to think back on many of our activities. At the CEAT cricket awards ceremony, Dravid remarked, “You do realise, sometimes, you have to do a lot of these things, you have to do the process, you have to do everything right.”
At the end of the day, sometimes a little bit of luck is needed. We wanted a man who could stay one inch inside a line, but sometimes that’s the skill,” Dravid said.
Although in vain, Bumrah gave some good fortune to India.
When Jasprit Bumrah bowled the final ball of the seventh over and Steven Smith was declared Leg Before Wicket (LBW), India had a bit of luck on their side. When the ball went over the off stump, Smith decided not to take a review.
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Another opportunity presented itself with the fifth delivery of the 28th over, as Bumrah hit an angled ball that was aimed towards the leg-stump of right-handed Marnus Labuschagne. Harsha Bhogle screamed on air, “By millimetres does fate of major events hang!” while the umpire and third umpire remained undecided.
India
