'Pat Cummins led Australia against India like Babar Azam'

All-rounder Pat Cummins’ captaincy came under severe criticism after Australia lost to hosts India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture at the Muthiah Annamalai Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and experts sarcastically took jibes at his leadership skills to that of Pakistan batter Babar Azam.

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Sports journalist Shahid Hashmi pointed out the flaws in Pat Cummins’ approach in the fixture. He hit out at the all-rounder’s bowling selections in the match.

Shahid Hashmi lambasted Pat Cummins for removing star pacer Mitchell Starc from the attack when India were struggling at 2-3 in chase of 200-run target with captain Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan in the dugout.

He said this eased the pressure on the India side.

The sports journalist was also displeased over replacing pacer Josh Hazlewood with another bowler right after he dismissed Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer and nearly getting Virat Kohli caught out.

He also questioned Pat Cummins for introducing part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell in the attack when he could have opted for specialist leggie Adam Zampa.

Shahid Hashmi sarcastically pointed out that it seemed as if Babar Azam was leading the side.

However, former cricket Kamran Akmal took exception to the journalist’s statements and said Babar Azam is a better leader compared to his Australian counterpart.

The five-time champions were dismissed for just 199 in 49.3 overs after electing to bat first. The side managed to score just 10 fours and two sixes in their innings.

Steve Smith top-scored with 46 off 71 deliveries with the help of five boundaries. He put on 69-run partnership with opener David Warner (41 off 52). Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne chipped in with their 28 and 27 respectively.

Spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of India bowlers with his three-wicket haul. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets.

India had the worst possible start to the run chase as they were reeling at 2-3 with Mitchell Starc dismissing Ishan Kishan and Josh Hazlewood taking the wickets of skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer.

However, disaster struck when Mitchell Marsh dropped a simple catch of Virat Kohli and the latter made Australia pay for the mistake.

He and KL Rahul took the match away by scoring half-centuries and put on a 165-run partnership on the fourth wicket.

KL Rahul was the standout India batter as he went unbeaten at 97 off 115 balls with eight boundaries and two maximums to his name.

Virat Kohli struck six fours on his way to 116-ball 85.