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regular-article-logo Wednesday, 16 October 2024

World Cup 2023: India have been playing really well, undefeated this tournament, says Pat Cummins

Cummins is drawing hope from fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who haven’t been at their best in the first Powerplay

Our Special Correspondent Ahmedabad Published 19.11.23, 08:24 AM
Mitchell Marsh on the sidelines of Australia’s training session on the eve of the final.

Mitchell Marsh on the sidelines of Australia’s training session on the eve of the final. PTI picture

Pat Cummins is wary of India’s unbeaten run in the tournament but believes they can cause an upset. Australia have the reputation to play a totally different brand of cricket in knockouts.

“They’ve been playing really well, undefeated this tournament. But we know at our best, we can give them a good shake. We’ve played them quite a lot over the last couple of years with success so it’s all building up for a nice final,” Cummins said on Saturday.

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Cummins is drawing hope from fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who haven’t been at their best in the first Powerplay.

“The way he (Starc) bowled a couple of nights ago in Calcutta was fantastic... bowled seven straight a couple of key wickets and could have easily had a couple of more,” said Cummins. “The opening partnership between him and Josh Hazlewood’s going to be a big one for us. Yeah, we saw what impact they can have in a game when they bowl like they did the other night. So, they’re both big game players, played in a few ICC finals now, so they know what it takes.”

Recalling the league game against India, Cummins admitted that it wasn’t their best batting performance.

“I don’t think we scored par in that first game but we’re one catch away from potentially being in front of that game. We won an ODI series here early on in the year. There’s lots of moments we can draw on where we’ve had success against a really good Indian side.”

He admitted that they relish the chance to silence the crowd whenever they can.

“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and
that’s the aim for us tomorrow (Sunday).

“Yeah, you’ve just got to embrace every part of it, every part of a final even you know in the lead-up there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You got to be up for it, you got to love it.”

Asked if Marcus Stoinis had a chance ahead of Marnus Labuschagne, Cummins said that it was a possibility they would consider.

“Potentially yeah, those are things we weigh up before every game. We’re lucky, we’ve got a 15-man squad who we feel anyone can step in and perform. They’re all ready to go. So, like every other game, we go through a process where coaches get together and chat through what they think and then the selectors obviously pick the final XI.”

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