The tearing of hair has started, with Indians eager to find scapegoats for their side's failure to reach the semi-finals. But three players who will be excused from the backlash are Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and Ajay Jadeja. Together they contributed 1,125 runs to the Indian cause, while master batsman Sachin Tendulkar added another 235 - despite missing the middle of the tournament following his father's death. Between them, this quartet have scored five of the eight centuries compiled in the World Cup to date. The trouble has been, though, that while the runs flowed in the Indian innings, they came at an even faster rate when the opposition were batting.
Theories abound as to why India's dazzling array of batting talent was let down.
Physically you might get attuned to it but the mental fatigue takes its toll on the performance. We've played a lot of one-dayers in the last three years. However, Gaekwad's analysis of the team's failings may not prevent him from losing his job - particularly as a possible replacement is already in place. While there would be widespread opposition among supporters to the idea of using a foreign coach, Australia's Bobby Simpson is already being used as team consultant. Another likely candidate to collect his cards in the wake of the World Cup is captain Mohammad Azharuddin.