Vikram Rathour breaks silence on allegations of India doctoring 2023 World Cup final pitch

Ex-India batting coach Vikram Rathour has broken the silence on the controversial pitch issue that surrounded the 2023 ODI World Cup final, played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Before the World Cup final against Australia, India were accused of changing the pitch at the last moment.

The pitch turned out to be slow and low during the first innings when India batted. But as the dew settled in the evening, the pitch got better for batting and run-making seemed easy. As a result, Australian batters tonked the Indian bowlers in the middle phase of the second innings and chased down the target comfortably in the end.

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Vikram Rathour breaks silence on pitch controversy in 2023 World Cup final

During an interview with Sportstar, the former India batting coach Vikram Rathour spoke about the whole pitch controversy that surrounded the big final game between India and Australia. Rathour clearly denied that the pitch was changed and claimed that the pitch played better during the second innings of the match.

"I’ve heard this story that the pitch was different, which I don’t agree with at all. We played on similar wickets in the earlier matches as well. Matches against Australia, Pakistan and England were also played on slow pitches. The Ahmedabad pitch, however, eased out," Vikram Rathour said.

Vikram Rathour also accepted the fact that Indian batters could have scored more runs on the day. He even added that Australia were luckier than India which helped them in winning the final.

After the match, there were reports that speculated that India changed the pitch deliberately in order to trouble Australia with their slow bowlers. But India's plan backfired as the dew made all the difference in Ahmedabad on that day.

Australia trumped India in ODI World Cup 2023 final

During Australia's innings, the ball seamed around in the first ten overs and Indian fast bowlers restricted the opposition to 47-3 at one point. But as the dew settled in, the pitch got better as Travis Head smashed his way to a well-deserved century.

Head scored a brutal 137 off just 120 balls, which included 15 fours and 4 sixes. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne gave him good company with a patient 110-ball-58.

Earlier in the first innings, Indian batters struggled on a slow pitch in the afternoon time. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli scored half-centuries but could not get a big score. Kohli scored 54 off 63 balls while Rahul was dismissed for 66 off 107 balls.

Apart from Kohli and Rahul, skipper Rohit Sharma smashed 47 off 31 balls at the top and gave India a good start. But the Indian batters struggled in the middle and death overs as they were restricted to 240.