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India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has lauded Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ tactical masterclass in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While the dust has started to settle after India’s heartbreaking loss, Ashwin acknowledged that every decision Australia team management and Cummins took was the reason behind their dominating win.
“Let me make it clear, Australia did not win because of destiny or luck. They were tactically outstanding in the final. I watched their performance in the final with absolute fascination,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “Australia and Pat Cummins deceived me. I thought Australia would bat first if they win the toss because, historically, it’s an Aussie thing to ‘win the toss and bat’. The wicket used for the final was not Ahmedabad soil, it was rather from Odisha. It was the kind of wicket that would not disintegrate too much.
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“I was looking at the pitch during the mid-innings and that’s when I bumped into George Bailey, Australia’s chairman of selectors. I questioned him curiously why Australia didn’t opt to bat, for which he replied that they opted to bowl first since this was a black soil wicket, which usually gets better to bat on in the evening.
“He said that the South Africa game in Lucknow, which was played on red soil, helped Australia realize that while it’s better to bat first on red-soil surfaces, it’s always better to chase on black soil surfaces since the ball skids on well when the dew sets in.”
Ashwin was impressed by Cummins using the conditions well and losing his pace to bowl cutters to frustrate Indian batters. Cummins ended up conceding 34 runs in his quota of 10 overs and did not concede a single boundary. He also delivered the prized wickets of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.
“What Pat Cummins did with the ball was also nothing short of extraordinary. To not have a mid-off, have a 4-5 field and bowl with such accuracy was remarkable,” Ashwin said.
“I’ve never seen a fast bowler bowl to an off-spinner’s field and execute so perfectly, not bowling a single overpitched delivery. It was a tactical masterclass. Australia had us there. They were deserved winners.”
Ashwin played just one game in the entire tournament. He took one wicket of Cameron Green in India and Australia’s World Cup opener. The 37-year-old conceded just 34 runs as Australia got bowled out for 199. He was surprised that he did not get another chance in the tournament.
Ashwin played just one game in the World Cup. “I honestly never thought my World Cup memories would end with the Australia game in Chepauk. I was bowling well and I was in good rhythm,” The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer said.
“It was a disappointing end as our dreams got shattered, but India had a rock solid run. We played outstanding cricket throughout the World Cup.”
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