The former captain of Australia Aaron Finch praised Pat Cummins, saying that he had one of his best days as Australia's skipper in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 final. Australia successfully dismissed India for 240 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
In an interview with Star Sports following the initial innings, Finch remarked that the game was up for grabs after Australia restricted India to 240 runs in the final. This marked the first instance of India being bowled out in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
"Australia would have taken 80 for 2 because Indian wickets have been so hard to come by in this tournament. It's anyone's game now. 241 is that kind of chase where if they get off to a good start like India did, you can buy yourself some time. If not, hope the dew comes in later on," said Finch.
He continued to applaud Cummins' captaincy, describing it as one of Cummins' finest days leading the Australian team. Cummins secured two wickets, conceding 34 runs in 10 overs. Notably, the Australian captain didn't concede a single boundary throughout his entire spell.
"It's difficult to play short balls on this wicket, because some balls are coming on and some are stopping and skidding low. So really good captaincy. I think Cummins had one of his best days as captain," Finch added.
The match commenced with India losing early wickets, putting them in a precarious situation. Opening batter Shubman Gill was dismissed by Mitchell Starc for just 4 runs. Rohit Sharma, recognised for his aggressive batting approach, attempted to steady the innings but ultimately succumbed to Glenn Maxwell's bowling. He was superbly caught by Travis Head on the off side after contributing 47 runs.
Kohli accumulated 54 runs before getting bowled by Cummins. Rahul, another pivotal player for India, played a crucial role in the middle order. He scored a resilient fifty before being dismissed by Starc.
However, the Australian bowlers maintained a strict control over the scoring rate, with Mitchell claiming three wickets and Josh Hazlewood making crucial breakthroughs. As the overs advanced, India found themselves at 213/7 after 44 overs.
Later, Zampa would dismiss Bumrah, putting more responsibility on Suryakumar to provide a late surge for India. Unfortunately, the Mumbai batter had limited opportunities and was dismissed by a slow bouncer from Hazlewood.
Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj ensured that India reached a total of 240, with a run-out wrapping up the innings on the final ball.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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