In our childhood, the only thing that mattered ahead of an exam was the preparation. Doesn't matter how difficult the subject was or what was in stake, a well-rounded preparation meant you are always close to a good result. But every class has that one guy, who ends up having just a little bit more IQ and that helps him grasp all the complex concepts and the mathematical formulas during the class lecture itself. He uses the extra time to sharpen up what he already knows and then in the exam, he lands the final bow, ending up as the undisputed topper. Despite all the methodical and meticulous preparation, others at best can fiercely compete only to have a tragic end. One would be lying if they don't feel they found eerie similarities between the Australia side winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and that one class topper. In this article, we will take a look back at the astounding journey of the World Champion Australian cricket team towards the mighty sixth title.  IND vs AUS ICC CWC 2023 Final: Pat Cummins Poses With World Cup Trophy on Sabarmati River Cruise Celebrating Australia’s Record Triumph.

Pat I: The Build Up 

A closely fought and intense Ashes series ended in late July. Pat Cummins ended up injuring his wrist and the fastest timeline set for his return was the three-match ODI series against India just ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.  That meant Cummins would have been entering the mega event with little to no experience of leading his side in the ODI format. A month later, Australia were in South Africa trying to finally put their preparations in place but they didn't have their full-strength squad in disposal. A few days later, they had Travis Head with his hand injured and Marnus Labuschagne winning them an ODI game coming in as an concussion substitute and with it entering in the plans for the Australian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Pat Cummins Talks About His ‘Sweetest Moment’ in IND vs AUS CWC 2023 Final, Says ‘Silence of Crowd When Virat Kohli Got Out Was Most Satisfying’.

By the time the squad was announced, Australia had Travis Head with his wrist injured, not much idea how to fit David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head together when they are fit, no clear roles for the suddenly included Marnus Labuschagne, no clear plan of who is the first-choice wicketkeeper between Alex Carey and Josh Inglis and no left arm spinner in Indian conditions due to Ashton Agar getting ruled out. All these with their captain having an captaincy experience of ODIs in just four games preceding the tournament and two series defeats to India and South Africa can't be said as the best of preparations ahead of an mega event.

Part II: The Beginning

Australia's campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 started like it should have. They were handed two thumping losses against tournament favourites India and South Africa. They dropped Alex Carey after one game and moved on to Josh Inglis, making the previous conception of rushed preparation feel further true. The intensity was sucked out of them and in their third match against Sri Lanka, they looked down the barrel at one point of time with Sri Lanka putting up a partnership of 125 runs in their opening stand. It was a moment of now or never for the mighty Aussies. Travis Head Wins Man of the Match Award in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Semifinal and Final, Joins Elite Company With Mohinder Amarnath, Shane Warne, Aravinda De Silva.

Things changed from here on. After a rain break, Pat Cummins decided to lead charge and put his back into the bowling and David Warner decided to show some intensity on the field, taking electric catches, uplifting the team that has dropped catches for fun in the last two games. Instantly, things started to come together. In the following games, Australia found one of their experienced stars putting their hand up and delivering. David Warner led way as Mitchell Marsh, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell joined adding momentum in their campaign. At one point, Travis Head also returned to the squad and provided impact straightaway, As the tournament neared the end stages the Aussies started to galvanize more and more.

Part III; The End

The final push came in the match against Afghanistan. The miraculous double century of Glenn Maxwell restored the belief and confidence of the players who have been there and done it multiple times. They started to think about the World Cup again as their own territory where someone will have to produce something special to beat them. It reflected in reality in the knockouts when they produced a stunning bowling performance against South Africa and then turned up in their best shape against an invincible Indian team, executing everything perfectly, making best use of the conditions to lift the title of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Marnus Labuschagne Reflects on Match-Winning Half-Century in IND vs AUS ICC CWC 2023 Final, Says ‘My Mindset Was To Treat It Like a Test Match’.

Australia was not the best side of the competition. Neither they came with a good preparation. But they had individuals who relied in the team culture, recalled their experience of being part of a World Cup-winning squad, changing the intensity of the team with some individual efforts and last but not the least, had extreme belief in their own abilities shifting the pressure of delivering to the opposition rather than on themselves. That's why Pat Cummins could boast of silencing the 1.3 lakh crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ahead of the final. This entire campaign proved that there might be more teams who are slightly higher skilled than the Aussies, but there is no one yet who can deliver the skills at their best when it matters the most like them.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2023 06:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).