India ‘deceived’ as full extent of Australia’s World Cup pitch sorcery emerges

An Indian cricket star has revealed the full extent of Australia’s trickery that led to a crucial call that helped them win the World Cup.

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has given an insight into the pitch sorcery and attention to detail Australia used to win the ODI World Cup.

Australia defeated India by six wickets in the final on Sunday night in a massive upset spurred by a superb bowling and fielding performance and Travis Head’s century in the run chase.

But all the talk was about Pat Cummins deciding to bowl first after winning the toss — a decision that surprised many given the conventional wisdom of having runs on the board in a high pressure game.

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It proved to be a masterstroke as Australia restricted India to a modest total of 240, which the Aussies chased down with seven overs to spare.

Ashwin said Australia played their cards perfectly and correctly predicted the pitch would become easier to bat on in the evening as dew made the ball skid on.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the offspinner said he was stunned by Australia bowling first in the World Cup final, so much so that he approached Australian selector George Bailey midway through the match.

“Australia deceived me personally with their decision at the toss,” Ashwin said.

“I was checking out if the pitch was disintegrating at the mid innings and I met George Bailey, the chairman of selectors,” said Ashwin.

Winning the toss and bowling first helped Australia win the World Cup. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“And I asked: ‘Why didn’t you guys bat first like you always do after winning the toss?’

“For that, he answered back: ‘We have played IPL and bilateral series for a long time now, and in our experience the red soil disintegrates but the black soil gets better to bat on under lights.

“In the match against South Africa at Lucknow, it was a red soil pitch that didn’t just seam, but turned too as time went by.

“Dew is not a big impact in red soil pitches whereas black soil pitches are good turners in the afternoon but in the night the pitch solidifies into a flat track and plays as though it’s made of concrete’.”

Ashwin was left stunned by Australia’s soil sorcery and said it was evidence all the cricket they had played in India in recent years had paid off on the biggest stage of all.

“I was flabbergasted listening to that,” he said.

“See, what is happening is all the experience from IPL and the bilateral series and India becoming a central hub of world cricket, they can read the pitch perfectly.

“India is a unique country. Different parts of the country have different soils – black soil, lesser black, a mix of black, clay and red mix, pure red, red with a mix of sand and so many more. Ahmedabad in itself has more than 3-4 varieties of soil in the square. So what George Bailey said regarding the pitch left me spellbound.”

Ravi Ashwin was shocked Australia bowled first. Photo: YouTube.

George Bailey and the Aussies read the pitch to perfection. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Australia’s team management and coaching setup have been praised for the call to bowl first, and more details of their excellent preparation and attention to detail have emerged.

They include revelations of a reconnaissance mission that was crucial in the call to opt for more batting stability with Marnus Labuschagne over the volatility of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

ESPN Cricinfo’s Alex Malcolm told The Grade Cricketer podcast: “Full credit to the Australian selectors.

“They literally did a due diligence trip to Modi Stadium (in Ahmedabad) at 8 or 9 or 10pm the night before to check how much dew was going to come in and whether it was going to be a factor.

“They didn’t pick the team until after they’d made that trip to work out, ‘OK this is how we’re going to do it and we’ll play this way’. It was only after that that Labuschagne got the nod. He didn’t know til 10pm the night before.”

Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee told news.com.au India tied themselves in knots trying to tailor a pitch to suit the host nation.

“I don’t think the wicket suited India,” Lee said.

“I think it did definitely backfire on them. The wicket wasn’t suitable for their line-up.

“Their home ground advantage was taken away last night because the wicket didn’t suit India’s quicks.

“I think they prepared a wicket that was low and slow and ragged a fair bit. I think they were thrown off guard with Cummins bowling first.

“They thought they would try get the runs on the board and defend.They caught India off guard and from there India were trying to play catch up.”

Australia pulled off the perfect World Cup heist. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Pitch and dew wizardry aside, Australia outplayed India in the field and Ashwin was full of praise for their use of slower balls in the final.

“Australia were tactically outstanding in the final,” he said.

“I was shell-shocked to see their tactics during the final. Cummins was struggling in ODIs leading up to the World Cup, but the last four to five matches of the World Cup, almost 50 per cent of his balls were cutters.

“In the final, Cummins had a 4-5 field like an off-spinner does. He bowled only three balls over six-meter mark in his entire 10 over spell, he did not bowl full enough for the batters to get under or drive.”

Many of Australia’s World Cup heroes have returned home, but India won the opening game of the five-match T20 series on Thursday in a final over thriller as Josh Inglis scored his first century for Australia.