According to Suresh Raina, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup champion, the decisive factor in the final between Australia and India was captain Pat Cummins’ astute leadership.
Cummins executed a daring decision during the toss by instructing India to begin batting first. This strategic move proved to be successful, as Australia limited the tournament hosts to a respectable total of 240 and cruised to a six-wicket victory, aided by opener Travis Head’s magnificent century.
But it wasn’t just the toss decision that left an impression on Raina; the manner in which Cummins rotated his bowlers and the strategies the Australia captain employed against his opponents also impressed the India legend.
“What swung the game in Australia’s favour was Pat Cummins’ captaincy,” Raina, a Cricket World Cup winner for India in 2011, said in his column for the ICC.
“The way he brought Glenn Maxwell in to the attack to get the wicket of Rohit Sharma with a brilliant catch from Travis Head was very smart.
“Adam Zampa was great too, as was Cummins himself in dismissing Virat Kohli.
“They outplayed India and were very solid in their planning.”
Australia’s spinners were also well supported in the field, with Raina securing numerous runs with diving and outstretched bodies and providing outstanding outfield collecting.
“Another big factor was Australia’s fielding, I think they saved 30 to 40 runs,” Raina noted.
“From ball one, they were saving a lot of singles and boundaries. There was Travis’ catch and some excellent work in the deep from David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne.
“I think Cummins showed real temperament in his captaincy. He changed his bowlers knowing he could put pressure on each India batter even though they were all in such good form. His tactics made all the difference, and his planning and execution was perfect.”
Australia achieved its sixth victory in the 50-over World Cup annals with this triumph. In contrast, India has only two World Cup victories to its credit, having done so in England in 1983 and at home in 2011.
While the inability of India to secure an additional ICC trophy left many disheartened, Raina was encouraged by his former team’s performance and is confident that they can avenge the loss at the 2027 edition of the tournament, which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
“We will see the Indian team doing well again because they know how to reach the latter stages of tournaments now,” Raina said.
“It just takes a bit of time to understand how to manage those pressure situations, especially when you’re at home.
“Sometimes when there’s a lot of pressure you can lose your focus, and I think that’s a lesson they will learn from this.”
