Last Update on: November 18th, 2023 at 10:45 pm
The Rohit Sharma-led India National Cricket Team are set to lock horns with the Pat Cummins-led Australia National Cricket Team in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.
Ahead of the clash, the pitch has once again become the talking point as a slow track is expected for the match. The summit clash will be played on a used surface, where India and Pakistan had locked horns on October 14 and the Men In Blue thrashed the Babar Azam & Co.
The pitch for the India vs Pakistan game was rated as “average” rating by the ICC. It was the second pitch of the World Cup to get an “average” rating, with the first one being the Chennai surface which hosted India’s tournament opener against Australia.
Meanwhile, the players and coaches of both India and Australia scrutinized the Ahmedabad pitch ahead of the final. Post scrutiny, the main concern that emerged from Australia’s point of view was the five-meter patch in front of the crease on both sides of the ground, according to the report in Cricbuzz.
The five-meter patch on both sides wasn’t watered properly, which led to the belief in the Australian camp that spinners would have a major role on the track. However, the Aussies were not surprised with the pitch as they expected spinners to have a say in the game. This is not the first time that the pitch has gained huge attention as ahead of India’s semi-final game a massive ‘pitch switch’ controversy happened.
Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins Share Their Views On Ahmedabad Pitch For The World Cup Final
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit Sharma said that there is a massive difference between the pitch that was used for India vs Pakistan game and the one that will be used for the World Cup final. He said:
“There was no grass on that wicket but this has a bit of grass on it. The wicket from India vs Pakistan was a lot drier. I still haven’t looked at the wicket today. But from my understanding, it’s going to be on a slower side. We’ll see the pitch tomorrow and assess.”
“The temperature has dropped a bit as well. I don’t know how much of a factor the dew will be because in that Pakistan game, there was a lot of dew during training but not on matchday. The same happened at Wankhede where there was dew one day before but not during the semis. I don’t think the toss will play a big role.”
Australia National Cricket Team captain Pat Cummins, meanwhile, said that the pitch looked quite good. He said that the hosts will have a slight advantage but added that the Aussies have also played a lot of cricket there.
“Again, 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,” Pat Cummins said before adding: “Yes, I think Pakistan played someone there.”
“Yeah, hard to know, I think it’s been a bit more high-scoring here throughout the tournament. Yeah, it’s been a pretty good wicket, so yeah, hard to say.”
“No doubt playing on your own 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”
India will be heading into the summit clash with a 10-match winning streak while Australia will enter the match with an 8-match winning streak.
