India vs Australia World Cup: 'Pitch for final used before', says Pat Cummins

Australia captain Pat Cummins in an interaction revealed that the pitch to be used for the final match between India and Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was used before for a match. Since India's semifinal match against New Zealand, the BCCI has been under focus for pitch making. This comes after the International Cricket Council's head pitch consultant had allegedly accused the host nation of changing tracks for the semi-final between India and New Zealand from a fresh to a used one at Wankhede Stadium.

Speaking at a pre-match press, Cummins said the track for the final looks like a "pretty good" one.

"I'm not a great pitch reader, but it looked pretty firm. They've only just watered it, so yeah, give it another 24 hours and have a look, but it looks like a pretty good wicket. Yes, it has been used before. Pakistan played someone there," Cummins said at a pre-match press conference.

As per news reports, pitch number 5 at the stadium has been watered, rolled, and watered. The curator believes it will retain a little more moisture now. 

"No doubt playing on your own wicket in your own country has some advantages, similar to wickets that you've been playing your whole life. But we've played a lot of cricket over here," Cummins added.

Earlier it was reported that the teams on Sunday will play on the slow pitch, which will be the same as the India vs Pakistan game played last month.

The pitch will be sluggish and the ball after pitching will take its time to reach the batsman’s bat.  On Sunday, the team batting first and with 315 runs on board can see an advantage as batting second might be difficult. 

"Around 315 runs could be a defendable score as batting second will be difficult," a pitch curator in Ahmedabad told PTI on Friday. 

Speaking about the performance on slow pitch, Cummins said: "You've got to be brave with some of the balls you use, slower balls, bouncers, you've got to find that balance between mixing it up but also not go chasing too much," Cummins said. "I think we've struck that balance pretty well and at least over here in India, a lot of times by the end of the innings, things like cutters work perhaps better than it does elsewhere in the world."

Earlier in the day, World Cup pitch consultant Andy Atkinson arrived to inspect preparations and the pitch. Atkinson had a look at different areas of the 22 yards and checked the firmness of the surface. He even clicked pictures during his drill and gave numerous thumbs-ups when the rolling was underway. The inspection lasted nearly 30 minutes. 

The Narendra Modi Stadium has hosted four matches in the tournament so far, including the opener. The pitch hasn’t been very run-supportive. The highest total is Australia’s 286, which England failed to chase and was bundled out for 253.