'One of the bravest decisions': Ex-cricketer highlights Pat Cummins' pivotal CWC final decision

Australia defeated the Indian cricket team on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Head's 137-run innings and Cummins's leadership cost India the game. Australia choose to bowl after winning the toss and restricting Rohit Sharma and his team to 240 after they were all out in 50 overs. After reaching 241/4 in 43 overs, Australia won the ICC One-Day International World Cup for the sixth time.

3 things you need to know

• Australia beat India by 6 wickets with 42 balls left 
• Australia won its 6th ICC ODI World Cup 2023 title 
• Travis Head was named the Player of the Match

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Allan Border praises Pat Cummins’ decision to bowl first in the World Cup final  

Allan Border praised Pat Cummins for his selection to bowl in the final, calling it one of the best captaincy decisions he had ever seen. Given the high stakes of the game, many spectators were taken aback by Cummins' calculated decision to bowl first after winning the toss at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, it turned out to be a brilliant play.

A complex reasoning supported Cummins's choice. He sensed that the sluggish pitch in Ahmedabad would help spinners and be difficult for Australian batsmen, and that as the evening wore on, the weather would become more batting-friendly, with dew perhaps counteracting the Indian spin assault. This strategic insight was based on past trends at the location, where chasing targets had worked well in the past.

The choice to bowl first proved to be a brilliant tactical move. Australia's dangerous fast bowling trio of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Cummins carried out their strategies with accuracy, using cutters and bouncers to good effect on the slow surface. Particularly impressive was Cummins's effort in taking out key wickets, which included Shreyas Iyer and the tournament's top run scorer, Virat Kohli. With his 2/34 from 10 overs, he was a major factor in keeping India to a meager 240 runs.

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Australia defeated their opponents by a margin of six wickets to win their sixth World Cup. In an interview with Fox Sports, Allan Border praised the Australian captain for making the crucial choice to bowl first. The cricket veteran opened up about how he felt when he first heard the call, saying he thought Cummins had gone off course and made a bad choice. He said: 

“Pat Cummins’ “bowl first’’ call in the World Cup final was one of the bravest decisions I have seen from a cricket captain. I must be honest, when I heard Pat say “we will bowl’’ I thought “oh no, Patrick, you have lost the plot, you blokes. When Rohit Sharma was going hard early, I thought “what are we doing?’ Those first half a dozen to 10 overs I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, The decision to bowl first has just backfired,”