‘Believe in what we've set out to achieve’ - Andrew McDonald reveals team meeting which changed Australia’s fate in ODI WC

Australia lost to India and South Africa in their opening two games of the ODI World Cup 2023 and were in a state of bother. They needed something extraordinary to turn things around and that’s exactly what they did. The Pat Cummins-led side managed to win nine consecutive matches and defeated India on the night of the final in Ahmedabad to lift their sixth world title in the ODI format.

Meanwhile, Australia coach Andrew McDonald revealed the dressing room situation after their back-to-back defeats at the start the tournament. He mentioned that the team never panicked and believed that they were on the right track despite the two losses. The 42-year-old also mentioned that there was no blame game in the dressing room as the team was united to overcome the situation.

“There was a get-together post-game (after the South Africa loss). But once again, that was really just to reinforce that we were on the right path. It was about, ‘Let's stick to it and believe in what we've set out to achieve’, and that it will come to fruition eventually, albeit it didn't in the first couple of games.

“I think we've had moments like that when we were 0-2 in India in the Test series as well and you bring the group together and it's really just reiterating what you set out in the first place. If you start to pivot at that point in time, I think that can create panic within a group. It also means that potentially your planning has been well off and at 0-2 in a nine-match World Cup and it’s not the time to start throwing the baby out with the bath water. It was just a time to say, ‘Ok, let's get moving’” McDonald revealed on SEN Whateley.

Notably, Australia were in the driver’s seat for the majority part of the summit clash. Rohit Sharma gave a flying start to the Men in Blue, but once he got out, things became difficult for India as they were bundled out for 240 runs. Indian pacers started well with the ball as the Kangaroos were 47/3 at one point but Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stitched a 192-run partnership, which helped the Aussies to win the coveted trophy.