The astute strategies implemented by the commander who won the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to impede the progress of the opposing batsmen were analyzed by the Indian spin maestro R Ashwin.
R Ashwin analyzed Pat Cummins’s masterful performance in the World Cup 2023 final in his most recent YouTube video, titled “World Cup 2023: A Reflection,” characterizing his spell as a “game-breaking” phenomenon.
The Australian captain’s decision to send India in to bat first after winning the toss proved to be a pivotal one. Cummins completed his quota of ten overs bowled while conceding only 34 runs. In addition, he dismissed Shreyas Iyer (4) and the inform Virat Kohli (54) with two significant wickets.
Cummins delivered the most economical spell of any bowler who completed their ten overs at 3.40. Adam Zampa followed with 4.40, Mitchell Starc with 5.50, and Josh Hazlewood with 6.00.
Ashwin thoroughly examined Cummins’ strategy, deconstructing the reasons why the Indian batsmen encountered difficulty in confronting him.
“Pat Cummins as an ODI bowler was struggling for quite some time in the World Cup,” observed Ashwin. “But in the last 4-5 games leading up to the final almost 50% of the balls were cutters.
“And in the final, I don’t know how many people explained on TV, he has a 4:5 field, like an off-spinner – four on the off-side and five on the leg side,” Ashwin explained.
The Indian spinner noted that Cummins completed a perfect ten overs performance, with not a single mid-off.
“He bowled only three balls in the 6-meter mark towards the stump line (basically didn’t bowl full enough to allow the batters to drive) in the entire 10-over spell,” Ashwin emphasized.
“He knocked off crucial wickets in the final. And there were five fielders on the stump line – square leg, midwicket, deep square leg, mid-on, and long leg. He bowled his entire 10 overs without a mid-off. A game-breaking spell by Pat Cummins apart from calling the toss right,” Ashwin added.
Australia chased down the target of 240 runs set by India in 43 overs, assisted by Player of the Match Travis Head’s 137 runs and unblemished Marnus Labuschagne 58.
