The World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 Final ended in disappointment for Indians as the Men in Blue failed to win the Test Mace in their second consecutive final appearance. Australia, on the other hand, dropped a dominant display to win the one-off Test by an impressive 209-run margin. In the process, the men from down under also became the first team in the world to win the finals of all major competitions, implying their possession of all major Cricket trophies.
Days after the conclusion of the crucial one-off Test match, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) announced it was the most-watched Test match in the history of its broadcasters, Star Sports. While the update is not all too unexpected, Indian fans would certainly be in no mood for any reiterations of that horrid final. The star factors of players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, etc. are reason enough for spectator to glue their eyes onto their TV sets.
Rohit Sharma argued for a new model to determine upcoming WTC champions
After the conclusion of the final, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma argued for a new model of ‘best of three Tests’ to determine the winners of the upcoming cycles of the WTC. In the post-match presentation, Rohit said, “I would like to play the 3-Test match series for the WTC Final. We worked hard and we fought, but we played just 1 game. I think a 3-match series would be ideal in the next WTC cycle.”
His arguments, though, attracted a lot of reactions including that of his teammate Virat Kohli and former India great Sunil Gavaskar. “If it is a Test series, it has to be a test of character over three Tests – which team has the ability to come back in the series, or totally blow away the other team. It can’t just be pressure applied over two days of good cricket and then you suddenly you are not a good Test side anymore. I don’t believe in it,” Kohli said supporting his skipper.
Gavaskar, however, had a different position on the matter. He said, “No. This has been decided for a long time, you know even before you enter that first match of the cycle that the final is going to be just one-off. So, you have to be prepared mentally. Just like you prepare for the IPL, you don’t say best of three. Everybody can have a bad day or a couple of days, but before the first ball of the cycle, you know what it is. So, you can’t be asking for a best of three. Tomorrow, you may say best of five.”
Here’s how fans reacted:
Unreal unemployment
— N??(????) (@icrynowww) June 22, 2023
"maut ka tamasha"
— Arka (@ARKA0432) June 22, 2023
but India lost ?
— Sultan Khan (@MainHoonSultan7) June 22, 2023
Kya kisi ko iss baat se fark padta hai???
— Abhishek Tiwari ? (@AbhishekT0) June 22, 2023
Fir bhi hug diya is fraud ne.
— ? ????? ? (@bhopaaji) June 22, 2023
We watched just to see getting bashed by Australia ?
— APPU 2.0 (@appusinz2002) June 22, 2023
So many people realised the importance of King Kohli's captaincy
— Daksh (@82MCG_) June 22, 2023
To Inka fayda ho gya hum hi chutiya hai jo dekhte h.
— Aakash (@AakashA95444021) June 22, 2023
