Did India's choice of wicket for the World Cup final against Australia backfire? Here's what experts said after the match

Though the Cricket World Cup 2023 has ended, analysis of the final match, where Australia defeated tournament favourites India by 6 wickets, is still on. One of the major topics for discussion is the 'pitch talk' and India and Australia's performances on the slow wicket in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium. 

From the semi-final onwards, there has been a lot of discussion and analysis about the nature of the pitch being prepared for the knockout matches of the World Cup.

The pitch for the final was the same surface as the one on which India won their league match against Pakistan in October.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins reportedly raised concerns about the wicket the day before the match. But later, he played down any chatter around the Ahmedabad pitch for the World Cup 2023 final against India, saying that the pitch will be the same for both teams and that he is not concerned.

Speaking about the slow and sluggish wicket at Ahmedabad in the final between India and Australia, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting called out the hosts' 'tactical blunder' in terms of pitch.

"It was very, very sub-continental conditions today," said Ponting.  He added: "A wicket preparation that has probably ended up backfiring on India to be totally fair."

Australia won the toss on November 19 and put India in to bat first. Despite a good start by captain Rohit Sharma, the Australian pacers got rid of the top Indian batters and bowled out India for just 240 runs. It was the first time in the tournament that the Indian side lost all 10 wickets.

In the second innings, Australia survived despite India's brave fight in their bowling attack. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Australia's top batters in the first seven overs. But later, India bowed out to Australia's strong batting partnership. Australia managed to defeat India with six wickets and 7 overs to go.

The show was similar to India vs Pakistan in October.  Pakistan started off well in that match but from a strong position, they were rocked by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the middle overs to get bowled out for 191. In the second innings, India got off to a great start thanks to Rohit Sharma's massive hitting in the powerplay. Shreyas Iyer also scored a half-century as chased down the target in 30.3 overs with 7 wickets in hand.

Speaking about the final, former England captain Michael Vaughan too said that Australia got an edge over India because of the nature of the pitch. India were unbeaten in the tournament until the final. 

"Strategically they are a very clever team," Vaughan said. "They've clearly got a very clever think tank. I don't think they are a 320 side, they are a 280 side and preparing a pitch like this gave Australia a chance."

Speaking to Fox Sports on Monday, former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee said a bouncier wicket could have helped India to win the World Cup perhaps.

“I was surprised, if you have a look at the Indian attack, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami, they’ve been on fire this World Cup,” Lee said. “It’s the quick bowlers who have been doing very well, so I actually thought they’d try to nick off the Aussie top order. If they could have made some serious inroads early, that would have been their best way to try and take out that 240 and dominate. I was surprised they prepared a low and slow wicket which didn’t help them.”

Former England captain Nasser Hussain too said the slowness of the wicket meant that playing shots was difficult and that, in turn, saw India hit just two boundaries in a 29-over phase after Rohit Sharma’s dismissal.

“India are still a great side — but the pitch brought Australia into it,” Hussain said on Sky Sports. “India’s four bowlers not being able to bat that well came back to haunt them. That’s why Rahul and Kohli couldn’t go hard."

Cricket analyst Aakash Chopra too expressed his concerns about India’s choice of pitch. In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra said India’s choice of a black-soil surface proved to be counterproductive. He further said that  the decision to opt for a spin-friendly track was a strategic error.

“I think India gave up an advantage from the beginning. They likely had the freedom to choose the pitch they preferred. India went with the black-soil pitch, which offers much spin. However, the initial decision seemed a bit defensive,” he said.

Also read: PM Modi consoles Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in dressing room after loss in World Cup final; see pics

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