<h5>What is the World Test Championship?</h5><p>The International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship (WTC) is a league competition for Test cricket. It is also known as the Test World Cup. This tournament began on 1st August 2019. This tournament started because the ICC wanted to have one important competition for each of the three international cricket formats (ODI, T20, and Test Cricket).</p><p>The ICC WTC is a two-year-long tournament with nine participating teams. The top two teams on the league table play the WTC Final. Since a test cricket match is held for five days, the tournament takes two years to complete. The 2019-2021 ICC WTC was the first edition of this tournament.</p><p>Its final match was held in June 2021 at the Rose Bowl (also known as Ageas Bowl) in Southampton, England. India and New Zealand played the final match, with New Zealand emerging victorious. However, India came back strong in the 2021-23 WTC tournament. India reached the finals of this tournament, which was played recently.</p><p>However, India was once again defeated in the final match (oh no!).</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/india-loses-the-wtc-2023-final%2FVirat%20Kohli.jfif?alt=media&amp;token=65da8eda-1e22-4eed-8a3e-4527d0ac24c3&amp;_gl=1*lv71z1*_ga*MTIzNjQ0ODg2NS4xNjgzNzk5MjMy*_ga_CW55HF8NVT*MTY4NjYzMTUyNC4zMi4xLjE2ODY2MzI0NzQuMC4wLjA."><figcaption>Virat Kohli while batting during the WTC 2023 Finals. Photo by ICC.</figcaption></figure><h5>Who defeated India in the 2021-23 World Test Championship final?</h5><p>India lost the recently held WTC final by 209 runs against Australia. The final was held at the Oval Cricket Ground, London, England. India was chasing a target of 444 runs but was bowled out for 234 in their second innings (test matches have four innings, two for each team).</p><p>Australia was clearly the superior team in all departments. India had only themselves to blame for this defeat. India's last ICC trophy was in 2013 (the ICC Champions Trophy). This shows that even though the Indian team plays well, it is unable to win the finals of the ICC tournaments.</p><p>The Indian team has been criticised by many for their bad display in the finals. A lot of discussions were held on India's preparations for the WTC Final this year. Except for Cheteshwar Pujara, all players of the Indian side played in the 2023 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newsahoot.com/articles/csk-wins-ipl-2023">Indian Premier League</a>. This gave them less time to prepare for the final test match.</p><p>Many ex-Indian players, including present coach Rahul Dravid and former head coach, Ravi Shastri, have criticised the performance. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said India’s batting should be blamed for this defeat.</p><p>Also, Australia's performance deserves recognition. From the first day, they played like they wanted to win the match more than India. Australia’s Travis Head was declared the Player of the Match for his brilliant batting in the first innings. The other Australian players also performed exceptionally well. Their performance showed they deserved to win the match.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/india-loses-the-wtc-2023-final%2FAustralia%20Team.jfif?alt=media&amp;token=26f15306-6987-4405-9d39-9c104c27fe92&amp;_gl=1*1r6gkna*_ga*MTIzNjQ0ODg2NS4xNjgzNzk5MjMy*_ga_CW55HF8NVT*MTY4NjYzMTUyNC4zMi4xLjE2ODY2MzI1MTkuMC4wLjA."><figcaption>The Australian team celebrates winning the WTC 2023 Finals. Photo by ICC.</figcaption></figure><h5>What’s next for the Indian cricket team?</h5><p>The Indian players have been rightfully criticised for their performance. However, we must remember that they are humans too. They also need our support and backing to perform well.</p><p>The Indian team must now train and prepare for the upcoming tournaments, especially the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup. This tournament will be held in India, which gives us the home advantage. Let’s hope the Indian team performs well in the upcoming Men’s Cricket World Cup.</p>

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