Cricket Australia decided to celebrate the colorful Indian festival of Holi in a unique manner and with best intentions (hopefully) but the gesture didn't go well with some fans. To mark the festival and extend the greetings of Holi, Cricket Australia hosted an event at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the fans given the craze of the game among Indians.

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The catch, however, was that Cricket Australia not only displayed the ODI World Cup 2023 trophy at the MCG but even allowed the fans to click photos with it. Notably, Australia had won the iconic trophy by beating India in the final on November 19, 2023 in Ahmedabad. Have a look at the photos below:

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The gesture, however good, was not well accepted by fans who showed their displeasure in the comments. Below are what some of them read:

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The Indian team was in full flow during the 2023 ODI World Cup before losing the final in an anti-climatic finish. Rohit Sharma-led team was unbeaten throughout the tournament including beating Australia in league stage which gave the fans a lot of hopes.

The Indian fans compared the opportunity to win the 2023 ODI World Cup Final as a means to mend the heartbreak they had suffered in 2003 - when Ricky Ponting-led Australia had decimated Sourav Ganguly-led India in a one-side ODI World Cup Final.

Earlier in 2023, Australia had also beaten India in the World Test Champions (WTC) final. With the win in WTC Final, Australia became the first team to win all ICC titles - ODI World Cup (six times), T20 World Cup (once), Champions Trophy (twice) and WTC (once).

India, meanwhile, bounced back after the crushing loss in 2023 ODI World Cup final and won two back-to-back ICC trophies since - 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.