"Rohit Sharma's India Isn’t As Good As The 2003 Or 2007 Australian Teams" - Ian Healy
Published - 25 Nov 2023, 04:56 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:23 AM
Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy acknowledged that the Indian cricket team were dominant in the recently concluded World Cup. However, Ian Healy emphasized that the Rohit Sharma-led team isn’t as strong as the unbeaten Australian teams of the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.
India went undefeated in the group stage of the World Cup 2023 and also secured a 70-run victory against New Zealand in the semi-final. However, the hosts failed to continue their winning streak and faced a six-wicket defeat in the final against the Australian team.
Indian Was Dominant In World Cup 2023 – Ian Healy
In his column for The Indian Express, Ian Healy highlighted that Australia identified certain weaknesses in India’s approach, such as having a long tail. Healy suggested that Australia successfully targeted the inexperienced Indian players in the final.
“India was dominant and it is easy to understand all the talk of them being the best team in the tournament. But the Australian team knew of two or three chinks in India’s armour — among them, the fact that India played only five bowlers, had a long tail, and of course, its reliance on very experienced cricketers. So Australia had to get to the inexperienced ones quickly and they were able to do that in the final. This is why I feel this Indian team isn’t as good as the 2003 or 2007 Australian teams that went the entire World Cup unbeaten,” Healy wrote.
Wasn’t Like Australia Lost To The Netherlands – Ian Healy
The former Australian cricketer pointed out that Australia suffered losses against India and South Africa in the league stage. He stated that they learned from their mistakes and triumphed over both teams in the knockout matches.
“Australia had to pick themselves up after their first couple of losses. In this format, there was always going to be room for defeat and although they suffered two consecutive ones, they were against India and South Africa. They got the better of both teams in the knockouts by learning from their mistakes.”
“It wasn’t like Australia lost to the Netherlands or Afghanistan. In fact, the near-loss to Afghanistan raised the anxiety levels of the Australians and got them going. And in the semi-final and final, the team had near-perfect games.,” Healy added.
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