R Ashwin has revealed a conversation he had with Australia chief selector George Bailey during the World Cup final about the pitch in Ahmedabad left him “flabbergasted” at how well Bailey had read the surface.
Ashwin took to his YouTube channel to reflect on India’s seven-wicket loss against Australia in the crucial match. Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that came as a surprise to some. Despite this, Australia defeated India for 240 before catching up with seven overs to go thanks to a stunning century from Travis Head.
“Throughout Australian history, after you win the toss in a grand final, you say, ‘I’ll take the bat, mate,'” Ashwin said. “I prayed to the Lord for Australia to do this as many people do not understand that the soil in Ahmedabad is similar to the soil in Odisha and other grounds in the eastern part of the country. Even if every throw bounced off your knees, it would only bounce off your shins. This reduces the bounce, but clay doesn’t release moisture, it retains it, so the soil collapses. not. Even if every throw bounces off your knees, it will only bounce off your shins. This means there will be less bounce, but the soil won’t crumble because the clay retains moisture rather than giving it away. ”
After being surprised by Cummins’ decision at the toss, Ashwin detailed an insightful conversation with Bailey in which he explained the call.
“During the innings, I checked to see if the pitch was broken and met George Bailey, the selection committee chairman,” Ashwin said. “And I asked, ‘Why didn’t you bat first as usual after winning the toss?’ He replied, ‘We have been playing IPL and two-way series for a long time. and in our experience red earth fades, but black earth is easier to work with in the light.In the match against South Africa in Lucknow, the red earth was only stitched together. The effect of dew is not great on red clay pitches, but black clay pitches rotate well in the afternoon, but at night the pitch hardens into a flat track, almost as if it were made of concrete. Play like.”
“I was surprised when I heard that. What is happening is all the experience from the IPL and bilateral series and seeing India becoming a central hub in world cricket. , they can read the pitch perfectly. Journalists from other countries are commenting that the pitch has been changed, but this is complete nonsense. India is a unique country. There are different types: black soil, soil with little black soil, mixture of black soil, clay soil, red soil, pure red soil, red soil mixed with sand, etc. The pitches in Ahmedabad itself have more than 3-4 types of surfaces. So I was fascinated by what George Bailey said about pitches. ”
Australia played a bilateral series against India in the lead-up to the World Cup and lost 2-1. In her second ODI of this series, Australia won the toss and elected to bowl in Indore, but in DLS he lost the match by 99 runs. In the final match of the series, Australia again won the toss but chose to bat in Rajkot. They won this match by 66 runs.
There is already some controversy over the surface used for the World Cup finals. Ahead of the semi-final between India and New Zealand, the match pitch was replaced with a new surface the day before the match. India then defeated New Zealand by 70 runs to reach the final.
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