World Cup Final: Pat Cummins had one of his best days as captain, says Aaron Finch as Australia bowl India out for 240

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has showered praise on Pat Cummins, saying he had one of his best days as Australia skipper in the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Australia bowled India out for 240 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

WORLD CUP 2023 FINAL: Scorecard | Live Updates

Speaking to Star Sports after the first innings, Finch said it’s anyone’s game after Australia bowled India out for 240 runs in the final. This was the first time that India got bowled out in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

“Australia would have taken 80 for 2 because Indian wickets have been so hard to come by in this tournament. It’s anyone’s game now. 241 is that kind of chase where if they get off to a good start like India did, you can buy yourself some time. If not, hope the dew comes in later on,” said Finch.

He went on to hail Cummins’ captaincy, saying it’s been one of his best days as skipper of Australia. Cummins picked two wickets while giving away 34 runs in 10 overs. Interestingly, the Australia captain did not leak even a single boundary in his entire spell.

“It’s difficult to play short balls on this wicket, because some balls are coming on and some are stopping and skidding low. So really good captaincy. I think Pat Cummins had one of his best days as captain,” Finch added.

The match began with India losing some early wickets, putting them in a precarious position. Opener Shubman Gill was dismissed by Mitchell Starc for just 4 runs. Rohit Sharma, known for his aggressive batting style, tried to stabilize the innings but eventually succumbed to Glenn Maxwell’s bowling, caught brilliantly by Travis Head on the off side after making 47 runs.

Kohli scored 54 runs before being bowled by Pat Cummins. KL Rahul, another key player for India, played a crucial role in the middle order. He scored a resilient fifty before being dismissed by Starc.

However, the Australian bowlers kept a tight leash on the scoring rate, with Mitchell Starc taking three wickets and Josh Hazlewood providing crucial breakthroughs. As the overs progressed, India found themselves at 213/7 after 44 overs.

However, Zampa would come in to dismiss Bumrah to put more onus on Suryakumar to give a late flourish for India. However, the Mumbai batter hardly got anything to work with and was dismissed off a slow bouncer from Hazlewood.

Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj would ensure that India would get to 240 in the end, with a run-out ensuring that innings was wrapped in the final ball.