ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Where Australia could have scored some brownie points against India!

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By the end of the second over, when Shreyas Iyer lobbed one at the short cover area off Hazlewood and India were reduced to 2 for three while chasing a 200-run winning target, Australia were still in the game on Sunday despite getting bundled out for 199.

Probably, Australia were right on the money till the 8th over, till Mitch Marsh managed to put down a regulation catch off Virat Kohli's bat. Their captain Pat Cummins had misread the match situation completely when he introduced a part-time bowler like Glenn Maxwell in the 10th over during India's successful chase.

With both Kohli and KL Rahul fairly new to the crease and taking their time to settle down, Australia could have turned to Adam Zampa instead of Maxwell. When Maxwell was introduced into the attack, there was little scope for the white ball to grip the surface and a wrist-spinner like Zampa could have been a better bet.

By the time Zampa was introduced in the 18th over, the ball had stopped gripping the surface due to wet conditions (dew factor). Zampa's first over where he conceded 13 runs with Rahul striking the ball well because of the skiddy nature of the track, Australia had lost the plot. Worse come to worst as Cummins' worst fear of a leg-spin getting hammered came true.

Two back-to-back fours from Rahul's bat after a late-cut boundary shot marked the end of Australia's chance to make a mark in their opening game against the home team India. From there, there was no looking back for India.

Australia could have still won the tactical battle when Cummins introduced Maxwell in the 10th over and Zampa in the 11th. Perhaps, a shrewd captain like Steve Smith could have made some difference. Remember, how Smith bailed Australia out from humiliation during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when his team was trailing by a 2-0 margin earlier this year.

Those who watched that Test match in Indore would tell you the way Smith led Australia and made telling statements in the last and drawn Test in Ahmedabad and made way for his team to win the World Test Championship over India.

Really, there is no shame in losing, but after staying put in India for so many months and playing IPL for so many years, how can a robust team like Australia make such an elementary mistake after pushing India to lose early wicket in a so-called 'tricky chase'.

It all boils down to the captain and Australia's captain is just as good as his team. And if Cummins wishes to make a mark in the 2023 World Cup, his team would need good spinners (someone like Nathan Lyon) whom he can trust like the back of his hand!