'We are fortunate': David Warner credits IPL for Australia's World Cup final win over India

David Warner revealed that Australia employed their home-ground tactics to secure victory against India in the World Cup 2023 final last year. On November 19, the Australian team triumphed over the Men in Blue by 6 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, the Australians clinched the title, halting India's impressive 10-match winning streak in the mega event.

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David Warner on Australia's World Final win over India

Although Warner was dismissed early by Mohammed Shami after scoring just 7 runs off 3 balls, Travis Head's exceptional innings of 137 runs off 120 balls propelled Australia to chase down the target of 241 with 7 overs to spare. Warner, who has retired from Tests and ODIs, noted that their strategy focused on consistently rotating the strike with singles and twos to keep the Indian team under pressure.

“I think we embraced the fact that we didn't have anything to lose. We are fortunate to have understood the conditions and the venues from 2009. And Ahmedabad was the venue where the boundaries were similar to Australia,” Warner told R Ashwin on the latter’s YouTube channel.

“Our gameplan was structured around the MCG -- hit the pockets, run the twos and if we're bowling, bowl it to the chest and target the big boundaries. So for us, it was like Australian gameplan in India. That's what we thought about and tried to attack that situation. We had great experience in the group. It wasn't by chance we played the way we did, it was more because of the understanding of the wickets,” Warner said.

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David Warner admitted that IPL did play a part in Australia's win

Warner additionally highlighted the significant role played by the Indian Premier League (IPL) in aiding Australian cricketers to acclimate to the conditions in India.

"It helps; it definitely helps to be part of the IPL and playing on all these wickets. You understand the conditions, the type of the soil used, whether it's black soil or red soil. Is it going to turn in the first innings or turn in the second innings, you sort of get that great understanding,” Warner added."