Mumbai: While praising Australian for tactical brilliance in the summit clash at Narendra Modi Stadium, India’s star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that the wicket used for the final was not Ahmedabad soil but from Odisha.
Ashwin said that Australia’s decision to bowl first was based on their tactical acumen and a thorough analysis of the pitch’s black soil which gets better to bat on in the evening and this ultimately proved to be a masterstroke. “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. 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,” he said on his YouTube video.
He elaborated further by mentioning his conversation with Australian chief selector George Bailey during the innings break. “When I asked him why didn’t you guys bat first like you always do, he spoke about his experience in India and that red soil disintegrates but black soil becomes better to bat under lights. He said the ball turns in the afternoon but becomes patta (flat) like concrete under lights. And I was left in awe of their reading of the conditions,” he said.
Ashwin was also impressed with Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ bowling in the final with an off-spinner’s field setup. “Cummins bowled to a four-five leg-side field like an offspinner, attacking the stump line. He bowled only three balls in the six-meter mark or further up on the pitch in his entire 10-over spell. And he picked up crucial wickets in the final. The five fielders on the on side were square leg, midwicket, mid-on, deep square leg and long leg, and he bowled his ten overs without a mid-off. I have never seen a fast bowler bowl an entire spell to such a spinner-type field in my life, it was a game-breaking spell by Cummins” he added.
Australia defeated India by six wickets in the final in a massive upset spurred by a superb bowling and fielding performance and Travis Head’s century in the run chase for the record-extending sixth World Cup title.
