"You have lost the plot" - Allan Border divulges what he thought of Pat Cummins' decision to bowl first in the 2023 World Cup final

Former Australian captain Allan Border has revealed that he thought Pat Cummins had lost the plot in the 2023 World Cup against India by choosing to field first.

To the commentators' surprise, Cummins decided to send India's in-form batting unit to bat first, citing the dry surface and dew factor. However, Australia were disciplined throughout and restricted India to just 240 in 50 overs.

Border said he expected the worst for Australia when Rohit Sharma was playing aggressively early on.

"Pat Cummins’ “bowl first’’ call in the World Cup final was one of the bravest decisions I have seen from a cricket captain. I must be honest, when I heard Pat say “we will bowl’’ I thought “oh no, Patrick, you have lost the plot, you blokes. When Rohit Sharma was going hard early, I thought “what are we doing?’ Those first half a dozen to 10 overs I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, The decision to bowl first has just backfired," he told Fox Sports.

As expected, the dew factor came into the picture later in the evening and made batting a lot easier than in the afternoon. Travis Head cracked a brilliant century under pressure as the tourists won the final by six wickets to clinch their sixth ODI World Cup title.

---

"He’s starting to really make the team his own" - Allan Border on Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins. (Image Credits: Getty)

Border, a World Cup-winning skipper himself, also feels Cummins has come of age as captain in the World Cup and has done exceptionally well after coming in for criticism.

"He’s just grown as a captain and a leader. Tactically out on the field, he’s got some good senior men, which he goes to a fair bit and why not? There was a lot of people and I was one of them thinking loading up our No. 1 fast bowler with the captaincy might not be the right decision. But Patrick’s just grown into the job and he’s starting to really make the team his own," Border added.

Travis Head deservedly received the Player of the Match award in the final for his scintillating 137-run knock off just 120 balls as Australia wrapped up the chase with seven overs to spare.