Srinagar: To bat first on Ahmedabad wicket wasn’t a popular decision, Australia did that and emerged out as winner of the Cricket World Cup 2023 and now opener David Warner has explained why Pat Cummins opted to bat first after winning the toss.
David Warner said that Australia had in fact thought about batting first if they won the toss the night before the final but they changed their minds on the day itself.
“They were discussing it the night before for a good hour and a half or two hours about what to do.” Warner told South Africa great AB de Villiers on the latter’s Youtube channel. “All the stats coming through was saying, bat first and put runs on the board. But for once, when we got all got asked that question, I think a majority of us said let’s just chase.”
“If we bowl well and understand the conditions like that, we can then chase and then anchor,” he said.
India were all out for 240, with Australia starving them out after they shot off 80 runs in the first 10 overs. While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami then got the hosts off to a promising start in their defence, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne shut the door with 192-run stand.
“What Marnus did was absolutely perfect. You look at when we played India in the first game. I think they were 3/4 (2/3) but then Virat did what he does, KL Rahul as well. They were ice calm. When you know what to get, your best batters generally thrive. They will play the tempo of the game,” said Warner, referring to the first match of the tournament between Australia and India.
Warner was all praise for Cummins for the way he led the team in the tournament and the way he seeded doubts in the minds of the Indian batters with his tactics in the final. “He has been so calm the whole time. He was criticised in England for his fielding placements, being defensive and all that. Here as well, he cops it again for the slow start. It’s not fair. I get that as a captain he is leading the ship but as a whole unit, we take responsibility ourselves. Yesterday was a testament to that in terms of the way we went about it,” he said.