After a month and a half long struggle, the curtain came down on the 13th edition of the ICC ODI World Cup. In this tournament, Australia has won the title by making India cry on Indian soil. About one and a half lakh Indian fans came to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, expecting that India will win the World Cup on its own soil.
But so what? Travis Head single-handedly pulled the match against India in the final. In a marathon innings of 137 runs, India’s dream was shattered once again. Pat Cummins said earlier, he wants to shut down the entire stadium. But on this day, the whole country is silent. After India’s loss, as the silence fell in the gallery, the media of India went silent. Many in the Indian media blamed India’s mediocre bowling. Others are blaming bad fielding. Lokesh Rahul or Virat Kohli’s slow innings with the bat is also being criticized. Captain Rohit Sharma was also criticized.
West Bengal media blamed 5 cricketers for Anandabazar match loss. They raised the question why captain Rohit Sharma did not play Ashwin. The newspaper also criticized the way he was out. Lokesh Rahul and Shreyash Iyer have also been booked. Rahul played a slow innings and Iyer got out narrowly in the final.
Rahul scored the highest 66 runs for India on this day. But he played 107 balls for him. Just hit a four. In the middle overs, India’s run rate slowed down because of Rahul. The same thing has come up in the article of Times of India. The Indian batsmen were heavily criticized for not hitting boundaries in the middle overs.
NDTV also put some of the blame on captain Rohit in their report. Why Suryakumar Yadav is being supported even after consecutive failures in ODIs, came up in their discussion. They also criticized the addition of Mohammed Siraj to the new ball and Mohammad Shami. Although Shami was the highest wicket-taker in this World Cup, it was for the sake of the old ball. But, why he was brought as a new ball in the final, they have criticized that.
Times of India published their report on the success of Auji cricketers in their report. Great innings from Travis Head. The success of Australian fielders and bowlers dominated their published reports. The story of India was dimmed throughout the text. Only Virat Kohli and Rahul’s slow middle overs were discussed by this one of India’s leading newspapers.
Besides, after the 7th over, the Indian bowlers could not spread any kind of influence. The media of India has imposed that responsibility on the bowlers as well. Despite playing well in the entire World Cup, Shami-Bumrah has to endure criticism for such flawless bowling in the final.
(November 20/NBW)