The skipper leading Australia in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Pat Cummins, urged his players to embrace playing in front of a parochial Indian crowd in the final of the tournament which is scheduled on Sunday.
The five-time World Cup champions targeting to add the World Cup trophy to their already bulging cabinet as they take on India on their home soil in front of 130,000 Indian spectators in Ahmedabad.
However, rather than being overawed by the occasion at Narendra Modi Stadium, Cummins wants his players to use the partisan crowd to their advantage in the final on Sunday.
“The crowd is obviously going to be very one sided, but in sport there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” Cummins said on Saturday.
“You’ve just got to embrace every part of a final. Even in the lead-up, there is going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed, you have got to be up for it and you have got to love it and just know whatever happens, it’s fine. You just want to finish the day with no regrets,” Cummins said.
Australia entered the final on the back of eight straight wins, with their streak somewhat overshadowed by India’s 10-game unbeaten run at the tournament which includes a commanding six-wicket triumph over Cummins’ side earlier in the tournament.
