A devastated Virat Kohli walked out from the 2023 World Cup post-match ceremony without delivering the traditional interview for earning the Player of the Tournament title. The right-handed hitter ended the campaign with 765 runs scored at an average of 95.62 in 11 games, a World Cup record.
But it wasn’t enough to win the cup for India. In the final versus Australia in Ahmedabad, he was out for 54 (63) runs. India batted first and were all out for 240, falling 30-40 runs shy of the par total. Australia chased the total down in just 43 overs, thanks to a brilliant century from Travis Head (137 off 120).
BCCI President Roger Binny presented the award to Virat Kohli. Ravi Shastri, the host of the presentation, seemed prepared for the interview. However, Kohli briefly made eye contact with him and then left.
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Virat Kohli’s 765 runs were the most by any batsman in a single World Cup edition. Sachin Tendulkar’s previous high was 673 runs from 11 matches in the 2003 season. India also lost the event final to Australia.
Pat Cummins Talks About the Crowd’s Silence After Virat Kohli’s Dismissal
Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, encouraged his squad to fight hard to silence the 95,000-strong Ahmedabad crowd. After the game, he stated that his squad recognized the hush when Virat Kohli went out against the flow of play.
“We took a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd (after the wicket). It just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him to score another hundred like he normally does. That (wicket) was satisfying.”
Pat Cummins
This was Australia’s sixth ODI World Cup triumph in as many finals appearances.