"I was shell-shocked to see their tactics during the final" - R Ashwin on Australia's strategic masterclass against India 

Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on Australia's tactical brilliance in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the summit clash Australia completely outplayed Team India, who came into the final as favorites owing to playing on home soil as well as their unbeaten record in the tournament.

The Aussies surprised many by opting to bowl first, but backed their decision with a performance for the ages. Despite conceding 80 runs in the first powerplay, Pat Cummins and company stuck to their plans and choked India in the middle overs while also taking wickets at regular intervals.

Cummins himself played a crucial role with the timely dismissals of Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli, ending with figures of 2-34 off his 10 overs.

Ashwin praised Australia's tactics as well as the adaptability of Cummins, who had seen a dip in his ODI form going into the knockout stages.

"Australia were tactically outstanding in the final. I was shell-shocked to see their tactics during the final. Cummins was struggling in ODIs leading upto the World Cup, but the last four to five matches of the World Cup, almost 50 percent of his balls were cutters," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"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," he added.

Australia restricted India to 240, which they hunted down in just 43 overs to win their sixth ODI World Cup title.

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"I asked George Bailey why they did not opt to bat first during the mid-inning break" - R Ashwin on Australia's impeccable pitch assessment

The toss was rather inconsequential as Rohit Sharma admitting at the time that he would have opted to bat first anyway had he won the coin flip. However, considering how well the pitch played in the latter half of the game, it could be said that Australia read the conditions better than the hosts.

Ashwin claimed that the Aussies trusted their experience of playing IPL and bilateral series in the subcontinent for years, leading them to make the right call.

"Australia has deceived me personally," he said. "I expected them to bat first and score big like they do in the finals. The soil in Ahmedabad was like Orissa, there will not be much bounce, but the soil will not disintegrate because the clay does not release the moisture, it holds it."

"When I was checking the pitch during the mid-innings break, I asked George Bailey why they did not opt to bat first," he added. "He said that they have played a lot of IPL and bilateral series here, in their experience, the red soil disintegrates while the black soil gets better to bat on under the lights."

Australia had won a bilateral series in India earlier in 2023 by a 2-1 margin. They also toured India right before the 2023 ODI World Cup for another three-match ODI series, which they lost 1-2.