R Ashwin explains Pat Cummins' match-winning spell that turned the tide for Australia in CWC final

The 2023 ODI World Cup final between India and Australia broke a billion hearts as the Indian team lost its ninth ICC knockout match in the last ten. The Pat Cummins-led side won their sixth ODI World Cup and showed why they are dominant in ICC knockouts. The ‘Men in Blue’ were outplayed by the Australian team in the CWC 2023 final and it was captain Pat Cummins who made a lot of brilliant decisions throughout the match.

3 things you need to know 

• India were unbeaten from ten games throughout the 2023 ODI World Cup 
• The Indian team will now have to wait for the 2024 T20 World Cup to end their drought for an ICC title 
• The next ODI World Cup will be played in the year 2027

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R Ashwin lauds Pat Cummins for his brilliance in the CWC 2023 final 

Australian captain Pat Cummins shocked many cricket experts during the IND vs AUS CWC 2023 final with the decision to win the toss and field first. However, it was the time when Cummins read the Ahmedabad surface pretty much better than others. The Aussie bowlers made full use of the black soil Ahmedabad pitch and restricted India to 240 runs in the first innings. As the due came in the second innings, the batting became much easier for the Aussies and at last they were able to chase down the target with ease. R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: 

Pat Cummins as an ODI bowler was struggling for quite some time in the World Cup. But in the last 4-5 games leading up to the final almost 50% of the balls were cutters. And in the final, I don’t know how many people explained on TV, he has a 4:5 field, like an off-spinner – four on the off-side and five on the leg side. 

R Ashwin also went deep down into Pat Cummins' bowling tactics and observed that he was bowling without a mid-off fielder. R Ashwin stated: 

He bowled only three balls in the 6-meter mark towards the stump line (basically didn’t bowl full enough to allow the batters to drive) in the entire 10-over spell. He knocked off crucial wickets in the final. And there were five fielders on the stump line – square leg, midwicket, deep square leg, mid-on, and long leg. He bowled his entire 10 overs without a mid-off. A game-breaking spell by Pat Cummins apart from calling the toss right. 

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What went wrong for India? 

The Indian team had the best chance to bring the ODI World Cup home after 12 years as they had played some ruthless cricket throughout the tournament. However, it was just one bad day for India that cost them the ODI World Cup.