Australian captain Pat Cummins says his side is ready to crush India‘s hopes in front of its home crowd during the Cricket World Cup final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The Aussies will enter the final as underdogs after their three-wicket win over South Africa in the semi-finals, but Cummins says that tag only fuels his team’s fire.
”We know it’s going to be a packed house. There’s going to be 130,000 fans here supporting India,” Cummins said on Saturday.
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“In sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a crowd go silent. That’s the aim for us tomorrow. You’ve just got to embrace every part of a final.”
There are still of course nerves heading into Sunday’s final against the host nation, with Australia looking to win its sixth men’s 50-over World Cup trophy.
But Cummins says each player deals with stress in their own way to ensure they get the best out of themselves on the big stage.
“Everyone deals with it slightly differently. You see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over. Other guys just stay in their own bubble,” he said.
As for the pitch, Cummins remained coy, with accusations gripping India over wicket selection.
“I’m not a great pitch reader, but it looked pretty firm,” he said.
Now the focus turns to the team, with the Australian captain indicating that Marnus Labuschagne may make way for Marcus Stoinis come Sunday’s toss.
“Potentially, yeah. Those are things we’ll weigh up before every game,” Cummins said.
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The Australian underdogs will draw on their experience of World Cup victory despite the added pressure and a loud home crowd firmly against them.
“At least a dozen of the 15 [players] have won a World Cup and know what it takes and know that feeling and won’t be afraid to go out there and be brave, take the game on,” Cummins said.
Cummins was part of the 2015 Australian side that took home the trophy, defeating New Zealand by seven wickets, but he thinks a win on Sunday may feel even better.
“2015 [World Cup win] is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, it might pip it,” he said.
Australia will take on the undefeated India at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday from 7.30pm (AEDT).