"The Australian captain was absolutely right" - Nasser Hussain lauds Pat Cummins for his 'brave call' in the 2023 World Cup final

Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels Pat Cummins' decision to bowl first in the 2023 World Cup final was a hugely brave call. However, Hussain lauded the Australian bowlers' execution on the tacky surface.

To the commentators' surprise, Cummins chose to field first in Ahmedabad on Sunday despite the Indian batting unit being in supreme form. Nevertheless, the hosts could not bat the same way they did throughout the tournament due to the slowness of the surface and managed only 240 runs on the board.

In his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain stated:

"Make no mistake, that was a brave call in a World Cup final to bowl first, especially with the way India’s batting has fired throughout this tournament, but it was the correct one. The Australian captain was absolutely right because he correctly calculated that this dry Ahmedabad pitch would become better for batting later on in the evening as the dew came down and the ball skidded on."

The 55-year-old further reflected that the Aussie bowlers used the reverse swing on offer perfectly, including Cummins with his slower bouncers.

"Then after getting it right at the toss the tone was set by Australia’s outstanding fielding and their bowling when a dry pitch made the ball abrasive and brought reverse swing for Mitchell Starc along with effective slower ball bouncers from Cummins himself. It was one of those days when everything the captain touched turned into gold," Hussain added.

The Aussie skipper had been inconsistent with the ball before the final but saved his best for the last. He nipped out Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli to finish with impressive figures of 10-0-34-2.

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"It brings the opposition into it" - Nasser Hussain on the surface for the final

Nasser Hussain. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Hussain went on to claim that the pitch preparation was a mistake if India had any hand in it as it brought Australia into play.

"If India had a say in the type of pitch prepared for this final then they made an error. They think they are backing their spinners by having a dry surface but it brings the opposition into it and they are actually at their most dangerous when they play on a good surface that turns just a bit. India have shown they are the epicentre of world cricket now and put on a great show but Australia are worthy winners of the World Cup," he explained.

Travis Head's 137 was decisive in propelling Australia to a six-wicket win, thereby clinching their sixth ODI World Cup title.