We've worked hard for all those four years: Rohit Sharma on India's journey to the WTC Final

India's unfortunate pattern of failing in the knockouts continued as they slumped down to the might of the reckoning Australians at the Oval, getting skittled out for an ignominious 234 while chasing 444 runs in the fourth innings.

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India's trusted pair at the centre were dismissed early on Day 5 while the tail wagged, contorted and eventually fell short to Australia as they could barely stand in the face of the treacherous swing and bounce, exposing their frailties in a big game.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma opened up on another painful defeat, making this India's second consecutive drubbing in the WTC Final with the first one coming against New Zealand back in 2021. Rohit was vocal about the stark differences in the expectations and the results from the Indian cricket team, highlighting the shortfalls and areas of concern ahead of the 2023 World Cup later in the year.

Talking about the match and its fate, Rohit Sharma said, "I thought we started well with winning the toss, putting them to bat in those conditions. We bowled well in the first session and then we let ourselves down with how we bowled."

He further added, "Got to give credit to the Australian batters. Head came in and played really well along with Steven Smith. That just took us off guard a little bit. We knew it was always hard to comeback, but we put up a good show. We fought till the end."

Talking about the journey, Rohit Sharma said, "We've worked hard for all those four years. Playing two finals is honestly a good achievement for us. But we'd like to go a mile ahead as well. You can't take the credit away from what we've done in those last two years to come here. Great effort from the entire unit. Unfortunate that we couldn't go on and win the final but we'll keep our heads high and fight."

He would eventually conclude by talking about the crowd support, adding, "It's been brilliant. They've gotten behind the time. I'd like to thank each one of them. They were cheering for every run and every wicket."