The surface that India and Australia used in the ODI World Cup final, which was played in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, received an “average” rating from the International Cricket Council (ICC). The ruling council made a similar statement regarding the second semi-final, which took place in Eden Gardens between Australia and South Africa.
Notably, Javagal Srinath adjudicated the second semi-final in Kolkata, while Andy Pycroft, the match referee, assessed the pitch for the championship game. According to sources, India captain Rohit Sharma and a few support personnel have already contacted BCCI about the condition of the field used for the final.
Despite batting first on the slow and unforgiving pitch, the Men in Blue were only able to muster 240 runs, far short of what was required to win. Even though the Australian bowlers were dominating the home team, players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, who were in incredible form going into the final, found it difficult to get going.
The ball was hitting the bat wonderfully under the lights, which made batting much simpler. Even yet, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah appeared merciless in the middle, as the visiting team once had a 47/3 lead. But in Ahmedabad, Australia won their sixth ODI World Cup because to Travis Head’s brilliance. Glenn Maxwell scored the game-winning runs, but Marnus Labushchagne provided solid assistance with a gritty half-century.
It’s interesting to see that discussions about the pitch predominated both before and after the game. While former captain Ricky Ponting said after the match that India’s strategy to play on a slow surface “backfired,” the Australian media stated before the final that the surface was designed specifically for the Indians to succeed.
Five out of the eleven matches that India played in the tournament were classified as having “average” pitches. These include the match played in Ahmedabad against Pakistan, the match played in Lucknow against England, the match played in Kolkata against South Africa, and the match utilized in the championship. Their opening match is against Australia.
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