Team India were on an unbeaten streak of 10 matches in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, but they suffered a heartbreaking six-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the title clash in Ahmedabad.
On a slow pitch, Indian batters failed to get going and managed to post only 240/10 in 50 overs after being asked to bat first.
While skipper Rohit Sharma played a fiery knock of 31-ball 47 at the top, the hosts lost three wickets for 81 runs by the 11th over. Subsequently, Virat Kohli (54 off 63) and KL Rahul (66 off 107) adopted a consolidation strategy in the middle overs, where India struggled to find the boundary.
In reply, the Aussies rode on Travis Head’s stunning hundred (137 off 120) and Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten half-century (58 off 110) to seal the chase with seven overs remaining.
After India’s comprehensive defeat, the pitch served for the World Cup final made a lot of noise. In fact, former India batter Mohammad Kaif went on to claim that the strip for the final was doctored to suit the home team but it backfired.
Almost six months later, Australian skipper Pat Cummins shared his verdict on the Ahmedabad track, stating that they analyzed it was nice to bat on at night when the dew got settled.
"The Ahmedabad pitch looked pretty dry. But the big thing there was the dew that was going to come in. We thought it might be a little bit dry, so it must spin a little bit during the day but, once the dew sets in at night, it'd be pretty nice to bat on. So I took a bit of a risk," Cummins told Sportskeeda.
When asked how his side celebrated the World Cup triumph, Cummins revealed that they got together after two weeks for a Test series, where they rejoiced the success as there was a pleasant atmosphere in the dressing room.
"I think it's still sinking in. Because we are all living in different states, we all flew off a little bit differently. So first of all, it was just getting around with the family, friends. My brother actually got married the day I got back, so that was like a double celebration. We got back together with the Test team about two weeks later and we were all still just smiling, on a high. So it felt like we celebrated the World Cup win the whole summer," Cummins added.
Earlier, Kaif had accused India head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma of doctoring the World Cup 2023 final pitch.
"I was there for three days. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid inspected the pitch every day for 3 days ahead of the final. They stood beside the pitch for an hour every day. I saw the pitch change its colour. There was no watering the pitch, no grass on the track. India wanted to give Australia a slow track. This is the truth, even if people don't want to believe it," Kaif had said in an exclusive chat with Lallantop.
"The feeling was that Australia had Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc, so India wanted to give a slow pitch, and that was our mistake. Many people say that curators do their own thing and we don't influence - that is rubbish. When you are moving around the pitch - you have to say just two lines - please don't put water, just reduce the grass. This happens. That is truth. And it should be done. You are playing at home. And we did it a little too much," he remarked.
