"Thought was to give them a slow pitch, and India made a mistake there" - Mohammad Kaif reignites talks of 'pitch-doctoring' in 2023 World Cup final
Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif recently re-opened the debate around the pitch doctored for the home team in the 2023 World Cup final at Ahmedabad.
Team India faltered with the bat on a tricky wicket, scoring only 240 in their 50 overs. However, the pitch seemingly eased out in the second innings, enabling the Aussies to chase down the target comfortably in 43 overs with six wickets in hand.
The conversation post-match was around the Indian side tailoring the Ahmedabad pitch to their favor, and Kaif firmly confirmed the same in an interview with Lallantop.
"The thought was to give them a slow pitch and they (India) did a mistake there. People say curator did his job, we didn't say anything. It's all rubbish! You were roaming there , you are talking to him (curator). 'Grass kam karo, paani kum daalna' (reduce the grass coverage, don't water much). You only have to say two lines. There's nothing wrong in that, you are the home team, take advantage. But we didn't use it properly," he said.
Kaif further highlighted how the Indian captain and coach, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, were keen to have the pitch adhere to their requirements.
"I was there for three days, did a lot of shows. Rohit Sharma came in the evening with Dravid, went to the pitch, stood there for an hour and went back. They came again on the second day, and did the same thing. This went on for three days, and I saw the color of the pitch change. No watering, no grass. It became a very slow pitch. This is the truth," added Kaif.
The two-paced nature of the wicket in the afternoon meant India struggled in the middle overs after a fast start of 76/1 in the 10th over.
Meanwhile, after the first few overs in the second innings, the dew ensured the ball slid on as the Australian batters feasted on the Indian attack despite being reduced to 47/3 in seven overs.
"Cummins had the learning from the first match against India in Chennai" - Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif credited Australian skipper Pat Cummins for applying the learning from a similar wicket in Chennai in their opening game of the 2023 World Cup against India during the final.
On a slowish turning wicket at Chepauk, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. However, they stumbled to cope with the pitch and were bowled out for 199 to suffer a six-wicket defeat.
"Cummins had the learning from the first match against India in Chennai. He had won the toss and batted first, and India won the game easily in the run-chase. In the final, teams usually don't opt for fielding. We did that in 2003 and we lost. But Cummins learned from that and chased, irrespective of the occasion. Hum wicket mei doctoring karne ke chakkar me phas gaye (we messed up while trying to doctor the pitch)," said Kaif.
By winning the grand finale, Australia made it six ODI World Cup titles, while India remained on two.
The pain was evident among the Indian players as the side had won all 10 games until the summit clash.