Out-thought, out-fought

Cummins’s decision to bowl first will probably go down as one of the shrewdest moves by a captain, ever

That cricket is a cruel game has been said over the ages and it is so true. The Indian team experienced this on Sunday. After having bossed the entire tournament, they were out-thought and out-fought by Australia when it mattered the most.  I have privately maintained that Pat Cummins is not such a great captain. I take that back, I eat my words on this. 

Pat Cummins has a shrewd cricketing head behind that smiling face. His decision to bowl first was what won Australia the game. It’s as simple as that. This will probably go down as one of the shrewdest moves by a captain ever. It did not come across as a great move when India started to bat as Rohit Sharma got right into the Aussies and continued the courageous approach that we all love.

Gill dismissed early

Shubman Gill got out early, but the captain and Virat Kohli stitched together a partnership before an injudicious shot from Rohit saw Travis Head running back and diving to complete one of the best catches I have seen. Cummins then got Shreyas Iyer caught behind, and India went into sleep mode for 30 overs. True, the wicket was not great to bat on, but India could have scored at least 40 to 50 runs more in these overs.

Suryakumar Yadav after being dismissed for 18 on Sunday. Pic/Getty Images

The Australians bowled superbly and Adam Zampa was particularly good. The ball was scuffed up and there was reverse swing on offer that Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood used optimally. Batting was tough and this attack made it exponentially tougher. But the Australian fielding was even better! From the second ball of India’s innings, when Head miraculously stopped a boundary, the Aussies were on fire. David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Head, Cummins—all were gold standard. 

Defending 240, India started nervously. Surprisingly, they gave Mohammed Shami the new ball, which turned out well to start with, but the occasion got the better of Shami. He was running in hard, trying to take a wicket off each ball, and this impacted his usual style. He had a fantastic tournament right though. Overall, there was a sense of nervous desperation from India from the start that did not augur well. Low totals are always tough to defend and composure is key. 

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Australia too looked nervous in front of a packed Narendra Modi Stadium and there was a slam bang start which resulted in Warner and Mitchell Marsh slashing a couple, to be caught. Steven Smith did not review his dismissal and Australia were 47 for 3. It sure looked like this was going to be India’s night,  but Head played the innings of the tournament, starting off aggressively but then quickly settling down into an anchor man’s role. Along with Labuschagne, he absorbed the pressure and gambled patiently for the dew to form and the pitch to get easier to bat on. Head has been a revelation and the stand out point was the way he was maneuvering the ball, the situation, the ebb and flow of a tricky chase. A masterclass on chasing, we witnessed.

India’s surprising tactics

A few things surprised me. First, Ravindra Jadeja not bowling over the wicket to Head, especially after having seen how Keshav Maharaj had got him out in the semi-final at Kolkata. He only went over the wicket when the match had slipped away. This was something that the bowling coach and analyst should have picked up right away or planned beforehand. Secondly, India did not attack enough. Jadeja bowled to Head with a long off through out and at least 10 to 15 runs were comfortably got. Thirdly, Shami could have come off after a couple of overs at the start and Mohammed Siraj should have been brought into the game earlier. When he did come on, he too looked nervous and not at his best. 

Australia played superbly and many congratulations to them. India had an unbelievable tournament and it has to be asked why finals are not a best of three affair to provide a fairer format.

Jatin Paranjape, the ex-India and Mumbai batsman, is a former national selector too. He tweets @jats72

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