“Pat Cummins was struggling as an ODI bowler heading into the World Cup. But in the last four or five games leading into the final, nearly 50% of the balls he bowled were cutters,” Ashwin stated.
“In the final – I don’t know how many people explained it on TV – Cummins bowled to a four-five leg-side field like an offspinner, bowling the stump line. But he bowled only three balls in the six-meter mark or further up on the pitch in his entire ten-over spell. [He] knocked off crucial wickets in the final. The five fielders on the on side were square leg, midwicket, mid-on, deep square leg and long leg, and he bowled his ten overs without a mid-off.”
Despite having a predominantly leg-side area with no mid-off in place, Cummins didn’t concede a single boundary and completed with figures of two for 34. The two wickets were these of Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli; Iyer was finished in by the low bounce on a size ball whereas Kohli performed one on whereas making an attempt to steer a back-of-a-length ball to deep third. Those strikes went a great distance in proscribing India to 240 in Ahmedabad.
“Cummins’ execution should be applauded,” Ashwin stated. “It is easy to plan to bowl to a leg-side field. It is easier to bowl that way in a Test match because the umpires will not call a wide even if you bowl a couple of balls down leg.
“But to not bowl a large down leg in an ODI, execute the plans with that area and not permit batters to drive the ball is good. In my expertise, I’ve seen bowlers go for no less than one or two fours with such a area.
“It was the first time I saw a fast bowler bowl to an offspinner’s field without a mid-off in a one-day game. Tactical brilliance, tactical execution. They had us there.”
Why Australia put India to bat
A key issue behind Cummins and different Australian quick bowlers deploying the cutters was the gradual pitch for the ultimate. The strip had already hosted the India-Pakistan match on October 14, and Australia, on the eve of the ultimate, had feared it could assist the Indian spinners. Having known as proper at toss, Cummins elected to area, leaving everybody stunned.
Ashwin would later perceive the precise cause behind Cummins’ choice when he bumped into Australia chief selector George Bailey on the midway mark.
“I was looking at the pitch in mid-innings break when Bailey came around. I asked him why they chose to bowl first when Australia generally bat first in finals,” Ashwin stated. “[Bailey] said, ‘we have played IPL for many years, toured here for bilateral series. As per our experience in India, red soil disintegrates but black soil becomes better to bat under lights. It is tough [to bat] in red soil under lights, too.
“In Lucknow in opposition to South Africa, the pitch was a purple soil one. Under lights, the ball not simply seamed but additionally spun. Even dew doesn’t have a lot affect on purple soil whereas on black soil, the ball turns within the afternoon however turns into patta (flat) like concrete [under lights]. That is our expertise’.”
‘Need same Kookaburra balls in bilateral series and IPL like in ICC events’
Ashwin also raised concerns over the quality of the white Kookaburra ball used for bilateral series and IPL as compared to the ones used in ICC events. He said that the ones used in bilaterals and IPL lost shape easily and also absorbed moisture unlike the ones in ICC events.
“I’ve noticed in ICC occasions that whether or not the spinner rotates it or whether or not a quick bowler bowls, the ball lands on the seam and goes on. Whereas in bilateral sequence or IPL, the ball [loses shape and] turns into like a spherical vessel, a lemon and even an egg.
“Sometimes when the ball is kept in a storeroom, it catches a lot of moisture and soaks water and changes shape and changes quality [easily]. If the ball is given in the same quality [as in ICC events] in bilateral series and IPL, it will make a difference, because selections are based on performances in these bilateral series and the IPL. It will be the right test for batters and bowlers.”