Australia strategizes on quieting the boisterous Indian crowd in the final

In addition to contending with India’s formidable batting lineup and aggressive bowling attack, Australia faces the challenge of dealing with the passionate Indian fans who will be rallying behind Rohit Sharma and his team on Sunday (November 19).

With the Narendra Modi Stadium boasting a capacity of 130,000, it’s expected that not a single seat will remain unoccupied when the five-time champions, Australia, clash with an unbeaten India side in the tournament.

“Yeah, I think you’ve got to embrace it. You know, the crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” said Pat Cummins.

“You’ve just got to embrace every part of a final … you know in the lead-up there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You got to pay up for it, you got to love it and just know you know, whatever happens, it’s fine but you just got to finish a day with no regrets,” he added.

Despite their initial defeat to India, Australia bounced back with a string of eight consecutive wins to secure a spot in the final. Going head-to-head with an undefeated Indian team, much will hinge on the performance of Australia’s new ball pair, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, as they take on India’s formidable top order.

In the semi-final triumph against South Africa, Mitchell Starc demonstrated his prowess by bowling an uninterrupted seven-over spell, contributing to a five-wicket haul alongside Hazlewood.

“I mean I wouldn’t be surprised, the way he (Starc) bowled a couple nights ago up in Kolkata…fantastic, bowled seven straight, couple of key wickets, could have easily had a couple more so the opening partnership between him and Josh Hazlewood is going to be a big one for us,” said Captain Pat.

“We saw what impact they can have in a game when they bowl like they did the other night. So, they’re both big-game players, played in a few ICC finals now, so know what it takes,” he added.

Following his leadership in Australia’s first-ever World Test Championship victory in June, Pat Cummins stands on the brink of potentially becoming the fourth Australian captain to clinch the global 50-over title on Sunday. This achievement would see him join the esteemed company of Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting.