November 19, 2023 - a day of heartbreak for Indian cricket fans, etched in their memories as a missed opportunity. At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a Rohit Sharma-led side faced a crushing defeat by Australia in the ODI World Cup Final. Leading up to this moment, India had been on an unstoppable ten-match winning streak, igniting hopes of breaking their ICC title drought. The match was seen as a chance for redemption, a golden opportunity to reclaim global glory.

However, fate had a cruel twist. The very team against which India's winning streak began ended up delivering their downfall in the most bitter fashion. As Pat Cummins elected to bowl first, Indian supporters were optimistic, especially after Rohit asserted, “I would have batted first.” Yet, the day unravelled differently. On a slow wicket, Australia's bowlers stifled the hosts, limiting them to a mere 240 runs. As evening fell, conditions favoured batting, and Australia, led by Travis Head's sublime 137, chased down the target with ease.

In the aftermath, significant chatter emerged regarding the pitch's nature during the final. Many believed the pitch's slowness played a major role in India's defeat, contrasting with the competitive wickets that had seen them through their World Cup campaign. In fact, former India batter Mohammad Kaif had also claimed that India “doctored” the pitch, claiming that he saw the colour of the pitch change throughout the three days.

“I was there for three days, did a lot of shows. Rohit Sharma came in the evening with Dravid, went to the pitch, stood there for an hour and went back. They came again on the second day, and did the same thing. This went on for three days, and I saw the colour of that pitch change. I wore a blue shirt today, it would look yellow three days later... that was the extent of that change,” Kaif said Guest in the Newsroom on TheLallanTop.

Later in the interview, he claimed India lose the game because it “doctored” the pitch.

“If it was a normal pitch... the form that Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav were in.. they were in great touch! If we had a flat pitch, 100% we would have won. Ham wicket me doctoring karne ke chakkar me phas gaye (We doctored the wicket, and that led to our loss),” said Kaif.

Vikram Rathour on the pitch

Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who was part of the dressing room during the campaign, has now revealed details about the build-up to the final and how the team's think tank approached the pitch conditions in Ahmedabad. Rathour revealed that the management believed the pitch would “get slower” as the match progressed, which didn't happen.

“I’ve heard this story that the pitch was different, which I don’t agree with at all,” Rathour told Sportstar.

“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,” said Rathour further.

While it was another opportunity lost for the Indian team to lift the title, Rohit Sharma's men ensured they didn't squander the T20 World Cup trophy in Barbados, enjoying an unbeaten run throughout the campaign to defeat South Africa in a dramatic final last month.