India finally won the ICC trophy when they defeated South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. The victory came after several setbacks, with the 2023 ODI World Cup being the most painful for the players and the fans. After registering victory in ten consecutive matches, including the semi-final, the host nation lost to Australia by six wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The pitch was slow in the first innings, and after winning the toss, Pat Cummins invited India to bat first. The Men in Blue were bowled out for 240 runs, and Australia completed the chase easily, with Travis Head amassing 137.
A lot was said about the pitch, and former India player Mohammad Kaif accused the sub-continent team of doctoring the track.
“I was there for three days and saw Rohit Sharma and Dravid coming to check the pitch. They did it for three days, and I saw the colour of the pitch change,” Kaif said to a Guest in the Newsroom on TheLallanTop.
He claimed that India lost the game because of the pitch.
“If it were a normal pitch, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav would have proved dangerous. If we had a flat pitch, 100% we would have lifted the trophy. We doctored the wicket, and that led to our defeat,” he added.
Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who was part of the dressing room, refuted the allegations.
“I disagree with this story. We thought the pitch would get slow in the second innings, but it didn’t. We should have scored more runs. Look, there are so many ifs and buts, but you need luck to win a tournament. And that day, Australia were lucky. They played better cricket, and that’s why they won,” he said.