"Still hurts" - KL Rahul on India's 2023 World Cup final loss to Australia

Team India's KL Rahul earned widespread praise for his consistent performances with the bat and gloves at the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Rahul notched up a hard-fought half-century in the all-important final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19. With his 66-run knock, he was the highest run-getter for India in the summit clash.

India's juggernaut came to a screeching halt as they were bundled out for a below-par score of 240 in the final. Australia chased down the target comfortably with six wickets in hand to clinch their sixth ODI World Cup title.

Four days after India's heartbreaking defeat, KL Rahul shared an emotional post on social media. He wrote:

"Still hurts… 💔"

KL Rahul amassed 452 runs from 10 innings at an average of 75.33. The Indian middle-order batter finished with two fifties and a solitary century. He inflicted 17 dismissals, the second-highest by a wicketkeeper in the edition.

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"What harm would it have caused?" Gautam Gambhir believes KL Rahul should have been more aggressive with the bat in 2023 World Cup final

KL Rahul took 107 deliveries for his 66 runs in the World Cup final against Australia. Unimpressed by the right-handed batter's approach, former cricketer Gautam Gambhir suggested that Rahul should have shown more intent.

Gambhir claimed that Rohit Sharma and company would have been crowned world champions had they posted a total of around 310.

During an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Gambhir said:

"Virat Kohli has played a role of anchoring the innings, but the rest all should have been aggressive. KL (Rahul) should have gone. What harm would it have caused? We would have been 150 all out. But had we been brave, we could've scored 310 and India would have been world champions. This is not the 1990s. 240 is not a good score at all. You need 300-plus totals. India were not brave enough."

Rahul has been rested for India's upcoming five-match home T20I series against Australia, slated to commence on Thursday, November 23, in Visakhapatnam.