Team India endured a crushing 209-run defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia on Sunday. The Indian unit misfired in both the departments as Australia took control of the proceedings from the opening day itself.
Australia, who were invited to bat first, got off to a slow start and lost Usman Khawaja early but their innings were stabalised after a crucial stand between David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne. However, it was the twin centuries by Steve Smith and Travis Head in the first inning, which hurt India the most.
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Head scored at a brisk pace and accumulated 168 runs off just 174 deliveries. Smith, on the other hand, was comparatively slow but his 121-run knock drove Australia to a staggering 469/10 in the first innings.
The Indian batters failed to put up a fight and thanks to Ajinkya Rahane, who was making a comeback to the Test side, and some healthy contributions from Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja, India managed to save the follow-on.
{{/usCountry}}The Indian batters failed to put up a fight and thanks to Ajinkya Rahane, who was making a comeback to the Test side, and some healthy contributions from Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja, India managed to save the follow-on.
{{/usCountry}}However, the impact of the centuries were such that India kept doing the catching up game for the rest of the Test.
Sharing his views on India's humiliating loss, BCCI president Roger Binny also highlighted the knocks by Smith and Head as the difference between the two sides.
"We lost the game on the first day itself. The big partnership that Australia put on was what really turned the tables in this game. Otherwise, the game was even. If you take away that partnership, the game was totally even," Binny told ANI.
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Apart from the scintillating show by Head and Smith, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc rubbed salt to India's wounds in the second innings. The tailender along with Carey added 93 runs for the seventh wicket, which helped Australia impose 444-run target for India.
The Indian second innings was folded for 234, with seven wickets falling in the opening session of Day 5.
Binny, however, urged the unit to remain optimistic and focus on the ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in October-November this year.
“We have something bigger coming up in the future so we have to keep our spirits up and make sure that we do well in the World Cup and it’s at home. So that is important,” said Binny.