'We tried but...': Rohit Sharma still dejected even after guiding India to victory against AFG

Exactly two months ago every cricket fan in the country was delighted and excited to see Team India in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Considering how the Men in Blue had performed in the round-robin stage of the tournament, beating all the opponents convincingly, the expectations were riding high on Rohit Sharma's men to lift the eminent trophy and end the 10-year-long wait of winning an ICC event. However, Australia turned out to be the better side in the finale and hence the entire nation went into a state of numbness. While more than 60 days have gone by, the stains of the pain are seemingly still fresh.

3 things you need to know

• India defeated Afghanistan 3-0 in the T20I series
• Shivam Dube was adjudged the man of the series for his all-round performance
• Rohit Sharma scored a match-winning 121 in the final match

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Rohit Sharma despondent over World Cup final loss

Following the culmination of the World Cup, the normalcy in the international space for India has returned. In the last two months, Team India has featured in a total of 5 bilateral series (3 T20, 1 ODI, and 1 Test). Thus, seemingly enough action has taken place to move on from the dreaded 6-wicket loss against Australia in the World Cup final. The assertion is evidently wrong, as even after playing a winning knock for India in the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan, Team India captain Rohit Sharma's expression completely changed at just one mention of the lost opportunity of winning the "biggest prize of them all."

"See, I don't want to think about it now. Absolutely (on the visible disappointment on his face). The 50-over World Cup for me is the biggest prize of them all. It's not like I don't consider the T20 World Cup or the World Test Championship important, but we've grown up watching the 50-over World Cup. And when it's in India, it's a big deal. We tried, but unfortunately couldn't do it. The whole team was upset, fans were too. But now the opportunity that we have, we will try to get the most out of it and win the World Cup," Rohit told the official broadcaster after the match.

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One of a kind World Cup for Team India

Rohit Sharma was in emphatic form in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. The skipper scored 597 runs and led from the front. Aside from him, Virat Kohli has had a tremendous World Cup, the right-hander broke many records through the deluge of 765 runs. From the bowling set-up, Mohammed Shami prevailed with 24 scalps in the tournament.