"We Saved Our Best For Last": Pat Cummins After Australia Thrash India To Clinch 6th World Cup Title

Australia captain Pat Cummins heaped praise on his teammates after the stunning 6-wicket win over high-flying Team India in the recently-concluded final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India started the game as a firm favorites after just blowing away the opposition in the tournament. However, the form and momentum counted for very little as Australia thoroughly dominated the contest and clinched a record-extending sixth World Cup title. Right from the toss till the end, Australia remained in the driver’s seat.

Pat Cummins raised a number of eyebrows when he opted to bowl first after winning the toss. However, he and his teammates went on to justify the call by bowling out India for a modest total of 240 runs. For India, KL Rahul (66) and Virat Kohli (54) scored the fifties while Rohit Sharma played a quick knock of 47 runs. For Australia, Mitchell Starc picked up 3 wickets while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood accounted for two dismissals each.

The boys were fantastic: Pat Cummins:

In reply, Australia chased down the total in 43 overs and with six wickets in hand. They started their chase in a disastrous fashion and were reeling at 41 for 3. However, Travis Head scored a sensational century while Marnus Labuschagne scored an unbeaten half-century to take their team home in style. Head scored 137 runs off 120 balls with the help of 15 fours and 4 sixes while Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 58 off 110 balls.

Speaking after the win, Pat Cummins said: “I think we saved our best for last. We have been batting first pretty much for whole tournament and we thought it is a good night to chase down the target. Didn’t really spin as much as we thought either. The boys were fantastic, we got an aging side and still everyone is throwing themselves on the field.”

He further said that Australia were looking to restrict India to a less than 300-run total, saying: “We thought 300 might have been tough but achievable on that wicket, really chuffed with 240.

Speaking about the 192-run stand between Head and Labuschagne, the Australia captain said: “Magnificent. Marnus with a cool head and Travis does what he does on the biggest stage, showed a lot of character. The selectors have backed him in and it is a big risk that we took and it paid off.”

“I was pretty happy throughout the bowling innings. You look around and it is a special moment no matter whatever happened tonight. You gotta go and win the World Cup, you can’t wait for it to happen. This year will be remembered for a long, long time and we had a lot of success over the winter and this one peaks it all. At the top of the mountain,” he added.