It’s tough to watch boys like this: Dravid

India coach Rahul Dravid said that his charges were distraught in the dressing room after losing to Australia in the final of the ICC World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

"It's tough to watch boys like this," Dravid told the media after his team's heartbreaking six-wicket loss to Australia in the final.

India, who were undefeated leading up to the final, were outplayed by Pat Cummins' side at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The Aussies put the hosts under serious pressure for the first time in the tournament and the Rohit Sharma-led side buckled under it.

The defeat was a serious blow for Indian fans and the cricketers, who could hardly control their emotions inside the dressing room, revealed Dravid.

"He (Rohit) is disappointed, as are many boys in the dressing room. There were a lot of emotions in that dressing room. It was tough to see as a coach, because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they've put in, the sacrifices they've made," said the India coach.

"It's tough to see that as a coach, because you get to know these boys personally. You get to see the effort they put in, the hard work that we've put in over the last month, the kind of cricket we've played. But yeah, but that's sport," he added.

Dravid is no stranger to experiencing defeat in the World Cup final. He was a part of the 2003 World Cup final played between the same two teams, where Ricky Ponting's Australia hammered the Sourav Ganguly-led India.

Dravid wants his charges to accept the outcome and move forward.

"The better team won on the day. And I'm sure that the sun will come up tomorrow morning. We'll learn from it. We'll reflect. And we'll move on, as will everyone else. I mean, that's what you do as sportsmen.

"You have some great highs in sport, and you have some lows in sport. And you keep moving on. You don't stop. Because if you don't put yourself on the line, you don't put yourself in games like these, you don't experience the great highs. And neither do you experience the great lows. And if you don't do that, you don't learn."