Ravichandran Ashwin: Australia were tactically outstanding

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lauded Australiarsquos victory in the ODI World Cup final against India attributing the Baggy Greensrsquo recordextending sixth title to their exceptional tactical prowess showcased in the summit clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in AhmedabadAfter a loss in the first two games of the league stage Australia went on to win eight consecutive games to reach the finals against India which they won by six wickets thanks to Travis Headrsquos masterclass inning of 137 runsAlso ReadIndia beat Australia by two wickets take 10 lead in fivematch seriesAustralia skipper Pat Cummins 4th from right celebrates the dismissal of Virat Kohli with teammates at Ahmedabad on Sunday PicPTIAshwin was highly impressed with Pat Cumminsrsquos ldquotactical masterclassrdquo in the finals as Cummins went on to take two key wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Virat KohlildquoFinal was a tactical masterclass by Cummins he had a 45 fielding setup similar to an offspinner hitting stump linemdashhe bowled only three balls in the sixmeter mark towards the stump line as not allowing batters to drivemdashhe bowled allovers without midoff a masterclassrdquo said Ashwin on his YouTube channelSurprising call at tossAshwin also anticipated Australia to stick to tradition and bat first but they surprised everyone with their decision He noted that Australiarsquos choice at the toss was rooted in analysing the pitchrsquos black soil which tends to favour batting in the evening ldquoLet me make it clear Australia did not win because of destiny or luck They were tactically outstanding in the final I watched their performance in the final with absolute fascination Australia and Pat Cummins deceived me I thought Australia would bat first if they win the toss because historically itrsquos an Aussie thing to lsquowin the toss and batrsquo The wicket used for the final was not Ahmedabad soil it was rather from Odisha It was the kind of wicket that would not disintegrate too muchrdquo said AshwinAfter being asked to bat first India managed to put up a belowpar score of 240 runs as Australian bowlers were well on top with tight lines and wellaccurate line length outside the offThe Australian pace trio went on to take seven wickets three to Mitchell Starc and two wickets apiece for Cummins and Josh Hazlewood Glenn Maxwell brought into the powerplay managed to get the key wicket of Rohit Sharma who yet again gave a thrilling start to IndiaBaileyrsquos assessmentAshwin also recalled his chat with Australiarsquos chief selector George Bailey during the match and said ldquoI had a chat with George Bailey during the midinnings I asked him why didnrsquot you guys bat first like you always domdashhe answered back we have played IPL and bilateral series here a lotmdashred soil disintegrates but not black soil and it gets better under lightsmdashno impact on dew on red soil but black soil has good turn in the afternoon and then it will be concrete in the nightmdashthis is our experiencerdquo said AshwinThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever