‘Australia were luckier, played better cricket’ - Vikram Rathour reacts to doctored pitch allegations in ODI World Cup final

India’s former batting coach Vikram Rathour dismissed all the talks of Narendra Modi Stadium’s pitch being doctored during the ODI World Cup 2023 final. Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who was part of the commentary panel, claimed that he had seen the surface change colour three days before the summit clash, indicating the surface being changed and was made slower to support the Indian bowlers.

Rathour stated that he didn’t agree with such comments and mentioned that the nature of the surface changed during the game. He expected it to get slower as the game progressed, but it didn’t happen, as the Aussies went on to win the match by six wickets. The 55-year-old added that Australia were luckier and also played better cricket as the Pat Cummins-led side went on to win their sixth world title in ODI cricket.

“I’ve heard this story that the pitch was different, which I don’t agree with at all. In the final, the pitch improved as the game progressed; we expected it to get slower, which it didn’t, so why did that happen? Yes, we could have scored more runs. There are so many ifs and buts, but one thing is sure: you need a little luck to win a tournament. And that day, Australia were luckier than us. They played better cricket than us. And that’s the reason they won,” Rathour told Sportstar.

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During the toss, India captain Rohit Sharma stated that the team wanted to bat first. However, when it came to action, they struggled to get going. The Men in Blue were reduced to 81/3 at one stage, and things didn’t go their way ever since. Star batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tried to bring some momentum back as they made 54 and 66 runs respectively but others couldn’t contribute much as India were bundled for 240 runs.

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Australia started on the back foot as they were 47/3 at one stage, but Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne took control of the situation and took the game away from India’s reach. Head’s knock of 137 runs proved to be the deciding factor as Australia picked up a comfortable win in Ahmedabad.