On November 19, in Ahmedabad, during the World Cup final, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina shared his thoughts on Australia’s win. Speaking to the ICC, Raina explained how Australia outperformed India on the last day and how Pat Cummins‘ leadership was crucial.
Although the outcome was frustrating to Indians, it is the essence of cricket. There’s no complaining about Australia’s performance compared to India’s. It was simply one unsatisfactory workday. When Australia won the toss, they were aware that dew would be crucial. They effectively chased and limited India to 240.
Australia’s victory in the match was largely down to Pat Cummins’ captaincy.
It was a very clever move on his part to bring Glenn Maxwell into the attack after Travis Head made an outstanding catch to remove Rohit Sharma from the game. Both Adam Zampa and Cummins were excellent in getting rid of Virat Kohli.
They had excellent planning and outperformed India. Australia’s fielding was another significant element; I believe they saved thirty to forty runs. They were preserving a lot of singles and boundaries right from the first ball. In addition to Travis’s catch, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne did some outstanding work in the deep.
I believe that Cummins’s captaincy demonstrated genuine temperament. Even though every Indian batsman was in such excellent form, he rotated his bowlers, knowing he could exert pressure on each one. His strategy was crucial, and both his preparation and execution were flawless.
Australia’s was 47 for three in their innings, but India was only defending 241, so they were unable to put any pressure on Australia. Then, with some brilliant batting, Travis Head produced the greatest knock of the World Cup, turning the tide of the match.
India was quite strong in terms of bowling, but their ignorance of the wicket let them down. India was unable to rotate the strike because Australia sent a lot of deliveries into the wicket and short balls, making it extremely dry and difficult for them to maintain pressure with the bat. There weren’t enough runs on the board, particularly considering that you’re used to reaching totals of up to 400, and Rohit’s wicket was a turning moment.
Praise be to Travis and Marnus; their performance when Australia began to feel pressured again demonstrated their ability to win an ICC trophy.
They thought they could win the World Cup after Glenn Maxwell’s double century against Afghanistan because when a player plays so brilliantly, everyone else wants to follow in his footsteps for their nation. Travis had faith in his ability to succeed in the final, and he did.
When I think back on the entire World Cup, I believe it was played in a very positive manner. Many scores, wickets, and spins were witnessed. I was quite impressed by Afghanistan and the Netherlands, and New Zealand also performed admirably. From the Netherlands’ Bas de Leede and Paul van Meekeren to the extremely talented Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand and Pakistan’s Muhammad Wasim, we witnessed many outstanding individual performances.
Though Mohammed Shami was my player of the tournament, I was really impressed with KL Rahul from an Indian standpoint. He bowled really brilliantly, both against New Zealand and during the entire World Cup.
Additionally, I think Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was excellent. His strategy, execution, planning, and decision-making all appeared to be quite sound. He appeared to be a capable leader.
He assembled a group of players, just like MS Dhoni did before him, and they performed superbly. Rohit genuinely wanted to win the World Cup for the entire nation, but I’m not sure if he will participate in the upcoming 50-over World Cup. He might participate in the T20 World Cup instead. However, God had other plans.
They performed so brilliantly in every section prior to the final, so it’s really disheartening. There were still some incredible moments, not the least of which was Virat reaching his 50th century in front of Sachin Tendulkar, his hero.
Given their current ability to get to the later stages of competitions, we should expect the Indian team to perform well once more. Learning how to handle pressure situations is not difficult; it just takes some time, especially at home. They’ll probably discover that being under a lot of strain might occasionally cause one to lose focus.
Undoubtedly, this event has genuinely touched the hearts of the country, even in spite of the disappointment. This is undoubtedly the greatest ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup history, with records broken in terms of stadium attendance, broadcast viewership, and internet interactions.
All eyes will be on the hosts, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, in four years. It will be exciting to watch young teams succeed, as we have with Afghanistan in recent years. Someone from Europe, like Ireland, or possibly a team from the Asia Cup, like Nepal, could be the one to step up. Seeing how all 14 teams shape up will be intriguing.
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