'I saw the pitch changing colour': Mohammad Kaif claims India 'doctored' Ahmedabad pitch ahead of 2023 ODI World Cup final

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has claimed that Team India “doctored” the Ahmedabad pitch by making it slower ahead of the ODI World Cup final against Australia last November, and blamed skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for the Men in Blue’s six-wicket defeat.

“Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid came in the evening to inspect the pitch and this was done for three days straight, and I saw the pitch changing colour. Cummins hai, Starc hai, inke paas tez gendbaazi hai toh inko slow pitch do aur wahan galti hui.(I was there in Ahmedabad for three days. They have Cummins, and Starc who are fast bowlers, so gave them a slow pitch and that was a mistake),” Kaif said during an interview on The Lallantop show.

“Sab bakvaas hai (It’s all rubbish). You were roaming there, you are talking to him 100. ‘Ghaas kam karo, paani kam daalna,” do line hi toh bolni hain (Don’t use too much grass, don’t water it. You just have to say two lines). And there’s nothing wrong in that, you are the home team, take advantage. But we didn’t use it properly," added Kaif.

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India had reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup with an unbeaten run, having won 10 matches in a row. . After having been asked to bat first in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on 19 November, a majority of India’s batters failed miserably as they were dismissed for 240. Travis Head (137) and Marnus Labuschagne (58*) would then help Australia chase down the target with seven overs to spare to clinch a record sixth title. India have not won an ODI World Cup title since 2011, when MS Dhoni and Co defeated Sri Lanka in the final at Wankhede Stadium to lift their second title.