Legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan hailed the Australian skipper Pat Cummins for making the right decision to bowl first in the marquee final against home-favorite India to win their sixth Championship title and urged Rohit Sharma to continue playing for the team, given his international cricket experience.
After winning the toss, Pat Cummins elected to bowl first, which surprised many experts and was considered a daring gamble considering the match’s high stakes. The move opposed the traditional cricketing wisdom by scoring early and forcing the opposition to work hard in the run chase as the surface deteriorated especially in a high-octane encounter.
During an interview for his biopic’s OTT release on Jio Cinema, Muttiah Muralitharan feels that it was always a wise decision to bat second in the sub-continental conditions due to the dew factor and cited the example of them making the mistake against India in the 2011 World Cup and said that even Ravichandran Ashwin playing the final would not have changed the result in favour of the Indian team given the dew at Ahmedabad.
“I think in a final in the sub-continent, I would always bat second because of the dew, In the 2011 World Cup final, we made the same mistake. Kumara Sangakkara wanted to bat first and we struggled. We got a decent score.
“We got two early wickets, even the third wicket on time before the dew came and we couldn’t control the ball. It was one-way traffic after that. Gambhir and Dhoni finished the match,” Muttiah Muralitharan said.
“Even if Ashwin played the final, the result would not have changed. When dew comes and the ball doesn’t turn, it goes straight through…it’s easy for batters. I experienced that in 2011 (final),” Muttiah Muralitharan added.
In the showpiece final, the team’s decision to bowl first was a tactical success for the six-time champions. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc executed their plans beautifully, skillfully delivering cutters and bouncers on the sluggish surface to take up wickets at regular intervals.
You Just Have To Work Harder On Your Fitness After 35 – Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan feels that Rohit Sharma can play another World Cup for India if maintains his fitness just like Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli and praised his performance in the marquee event for India, where he played exceptionally well for the team.
“You look at his ODI World Cup performance. The starts he gave, the kind of strike rates he batted at. He never failed in the tournament. And he’s only 36, that’s young. He can play another World Cup if he pushes his fitness like Virat.
“Rohit batted with a strike rate of 130 in ODIs, which is not bad for T20. He’s an experienced player. You just have to work harder on your fitness after 35. If the desire is there, he’ll play. I think he’ll definitely play another World Cup. It’s on his mind,” Muttiah Muralitharan further added.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli last appeared in a T20I for India in the 2022 T20 World Cup, when India lost to England in the semifinal stage at the Adelaide Oval. It is reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will meet with captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar to reassess and create a plan for the Indian team going forward.