Ever since the first semifinal between India and New Zealand, switching of pitches have grabbed headlines, and in the run-up to the summit clash of the World Cup between the hosts and Australia on Sunday, there have been talks of the preference of a sluggish track, similar to the one that was used in the home team’s match against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 14.
However, amid all the discussion on pitches, Australia skipper Pat Cummins is not worried about the nature of the track that will be on offer for the final of the showpiece tournament.
“We’ll be ready in terms of anything they’ll throw at us,” said Cummins on the eve of the final.
“It’s the same for both teams. No doubt playing on your wicket in your own country has some advantages, similar to wickets that you’ve been playing your whole life. But we’ve played a lot of cricket over here,” Cummins added.
Explaining the reason behind his disinterest on the pitch-talk, Cummins said, “I think, of all the venues, perhaps this venue – the toss isn’t as important as, say, a Mumbai Wankhede Stadium or other venues. So, we’ll be ready in terms of anything they’ll throw at us. Yeah, we’ll wait and see, but we’ll make sure we have some plans,” he said.
Cummins also rated himself as not a great reader of pitches when asked how the wicket will respond on Sunday. “I’m not a great pitch reader, but it looked pretty firm. They’ve only just watered it, so yeah, give it another 24 hours and have a look, but it looks like a pretty good wicket,” he commented.
Come Sunday, Cummins will lead the Australian pace attack that includes his go-to men in Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc against a formidable Indian batting line-up, led by their skipper Rohit Sharma, who along with coach Rahul Dravid inspected the pitch in detail during the optional training session at the Narendra Modi stadium.
The Indian team also boasts of a lethal bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah and the experienced Mohammed Shami, who is fresh from a seven-wicket burst at the Wankhede Stadium during the semifinal against New Zealand. India will also expect the third new ball option in Mohammed Siraj to step up and rise to the occasion on the grand stage.