Shahid Afridi slams Ahmedabad crowd, India’s ‘overconfidence’ after loss in World Cup 2023 final

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, while appearing on Pakistan’s Samaa TV, suggested overconfidence might have been India’s undoing.

“Jab aap continue game jeete ja rahe ho, to overconfidence bhi zyada ho jati hai. toh woh cheez aapko marwah deti hai (When you win all the games, the ‘overconfidence’ takes over. So, this could lead to their downfall).”

The final saw India batting first under challenging conditions, where they lost Shubman Gill early on. However, Rohit Sharma briefly kept hopes alive with an aggressive 47 off 31 balls. India’s situation worsened as they lost three wickets, including that of the captain and Shreyas Iyer, in quick succession.

Afridi, during the live coverage, expressed his disappointment at Iyer’s dismissal, attributing it to overconfidence affecting the team’s shot selection. India’s batting woes continued as, apart from a 67-run stand between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, the team failed to build significant partnerships. India’s innings concluded at 240 runs, a total that seemed underwhelming for a final showdown.

Australia’s response was robust, with Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stitching together a match-winning 192-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Head’s exceptional 137-run innings was pivotal in Australia’s comfortable chase, completed with 7 overs to spare.

Shahid Afridi slams Ahmedabad crowd

After the cricket match, Afridi slammed the Ahmedabad crowd for their lack of appreciation towards Head’s century. He said: “We all have experienced this at some point in our career. Whenever we hit a boundary or score a century or take a wicket, there is never any response from the (Indian) crowd.”

“When Travis Head scored a century, the crowd was silent. Why? A sports-loving nation always appreciates every athlete and their efforts. But, not getting that from the Indian crowd, which is a so-called-educated crowd was surprising. It was such a massive hundred, at least a few could have stood up to applaud.”

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Updated: 21 Nov 2023, 08:12 AM IST