Pat Cummins has revealed the comment from Steve Smith that made him truly appreciate the Ahmedabad crowd’s response to Virat Kohli’s wicket in the 2023 World Cup final.
With a six-wicket victory over hosts India, who were unbeaten in the tournament until the final, Australia increased their World Cup trophy tally to six.
Australia captain Pat Cummins caused a controversy by throwing India into the match against conventional advice to bat first in knockout matches. India reached 76-1 in his 10 overs, but two quick hits brought him down to 81-3.
Virat Kohli (54 off 63 balls) and KL Rahul (66 off 107 balls) then added 67 in 18.1 overs and looked to lay the foundation for the final attack. Australia’s bowling was so tight that he only had one boundary in the partnership.
Despite the slow pace, India refrained from bowling. This was probably to ensure that Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and their very long tails arrived at the crease as late as possible.
This plan did not work as at that point Kohli hit a shot on the stumps of Cummins, who had already bowled Shreyas Iyer earlier in the innings.
Cummins finished with 2 for 34 and India were bowled out for 240. Travis Head (137 off 120 balls) and Marnus Labuschagne (58 off 110) then smashed Australia to 47-3.
In a subsequent interview with The Age, Cummins was asked about memorable moments from the finale. “On my deathbed 70 years later.”
“I think it’s Virat Kohli’s wicket,” Cummins replied, explaining the stunned silence that had gathered 90,000 people.
“I was obviously very excited,” Cummins said. “And as we came off the wicket and into the scrum, Steve Smith said, “Guys, please listen to the crowd for a second.” So we stopped for a moment and it was like a library. It was very quiet. There were 100,000 Indians there, but it was very quiet. I want to enjoy this moment for a long time.”
The day before the final, Cummins spoke of his goal to silence the crowd. “The crowd will obviously be one-sided, but in sports there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a large audience go silent. The goal. ‘Tomorrow is us.’
He achieved his aim in some style.
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