India speedster Mohammed Shami opened up on the Men in Blue’s six-wicket loss against Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 final match and said that the nation was disappointed after the defeat. While speaking to the press, Shami said that the hosts gave their best to continue the momentum throughout the tournament and win the final match.
The 33-year-old added that they cannot explain where they went wrong during the final match of the ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia.
“The whole nation was disappointed (when India lost the World Cup). We tried hundred per cent to continue the momentum till the end that we had created and win the final. But…it cannot be explained, where we went wrong at the end…,” Shami said.
Recently, Shami was ruled out from India’s ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa due to an injury. The first Test started on December 26 in Centurion. Meanwhile, the second will be played on January 3 in Cape Town.
Recapping the final match of the ODI World Cup 2023, India struggled on a tough batting surface after Australia elected to field first, with fifties coming from KL Rahul (66) and Virat Kohli (54). India was bundled out for 240 in their 50 overs. In the chase of 241, Travis Head (137) and Marnus Labuschagne (58*) guided Australia to their sixth WC title at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
After India’s loss, PM Narendra Modi met the players in the dressing room and comforted them. The video of that meeting was widely shared. In that meeting, PM Modi hugged Shami and congratulated him for his performance. That video went viral on social media and grabbed mixed reactions from the viewers.
In an interview with Aaj Tak on Wednesday, Shami revealed that the Indian cricket team players were not ready for the PM’s visit as it came as a surprise for them.
“We were heartbroken after the loss and were sitting dejectedly. It was like our hard work of two months got negated due to just one match. It was our bad day and we were dejected but when the PM enters, you have to keep your head high. We were not even told that Modiji was coming there and suddenly he entered. Earlier, we were not even in the mood to eat and talk to each other but when he came, it was such a big surprise for us,” said Shami.
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