XPost: uk.sport.cricket

The moment Pat Cummins WON the TOSS and CHOSE TO FIELD FIRST and Rohit
said "he would have batted first anyway IF he won the toss", I felt very uncomfortable and expressed that Indian team management's THOUGHT
PROCESS is fucked up and India should have FIELDED FIRST had they won
the toss.


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https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/r-ashwin-admits-india-were-undone-by-tactical-brilliance-and-execution-from-pat-cummins-in-world-cup-final-1410134

Ashwin admits India were undone by 'tactical brilliance and execution'
from Cummins

India offspinner also raises concerns over the quality of the white
Kookaburra ball used for bilateral series and IPL, as compared to the
ones used in ICC events

Why Australia put India to bat

A key factor behind Cummins and other Australian fast bowlers deploying
the cutters was the slow pitch for the final. The strip had already
hosted the India-Pakistan match on October 14, and Australia, on the eve
of the final, had feared it would help the Indian spinners. Having
called right at toss, Cummins elected to field, leaving everyone surprised.

Ashwin would later understand the exact reason behind Cummins' decision
when he ran into Australia chief selector George Bailey at the halfway mark.

"I was looking at the pitch in mid-innings break when Bailey came
around. I asked him why they chose to bowl first when Australia
generally bat first in finals," Ashwin said. "[Bailey] said, 'we have
played IPL for many years, toured here for bilateral series. As per our experience in India, red soil disintegrates but black soil becomes
better to bat under lights. It is tough [to bat] in red soil under
lights, too.

"In Lucknow against South Africa, the pitch was a red soil one. Under
lights, the ball not just seamed but also spun. Even dew does not have
much impact on red soil whereas on black soil, the ball turns in the
afternoon but becomes patta (flat) like concrete [under lights]. That is
our experience'."

'Need same Kookaburra balls in bilateral series and IPL like in ICC events'

Ashwin also raised concerns over the quality of the white Kookaburra
ball used for bilateral series and IPL as compared to the ones used in
ICC events. He said that the ones used in bilaterals and IPL lost shape
easily and also absorbed moisture unlike the ones in ICC events.

"I have observed in ICC events that whether the spinner rotates it or
whether a fast bowler bowls, the ball lands on the seam and goes on.
Whereas in bilateral series or IPL, the ball [loses shape and] becomes
like a round vessel, a lemon or even an egg.

"Sometimes when the ball is kept in a storeroom, it catches a lot of
moisture and soaks water and changes shape and changes quality [easily].
If the ball is given in the same quality [as in ICC events] in bilateral
series and IPL, it will make a difference, because selections are based
on performances in these bilateral series and the IPL. It will be the
right test for batters and bowlers."

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