Indian spin king Ravichandran Ashwin has praised Pat Cummins' tactical "brilliance" for helping Australia pull off the great World Cup heist.
Cummins has rightly been receiving plaudits for his captaincy in the aftermath of one of Australian cricket's finest achievements.
His leadership was questioned at times during 2023 - the biggest year for an Australian team on record as they embarked on a tour of India, the World Test Championship final, an away Ashes tour and then the 50-over World Cup.
But Test superstar Ashwin, who was restricted to just one appearance in the World Cup, believed Cummins and Australia played the perfect game in Sunday's final at the Ahmedabad colosseum to stun the unbeaten Indians.
"Cummins' execution should be applauded," the 37-year-old said on his YouTube channel.
"It is easy to plan to bowl to a leg-side field. It is easier to bowl that way in a Test match because the umpires will not call a wide even if you bowl a couple of balls down leg.
"But to not bowl a wide down leg in an ODI, execute the plans with that field and not allow batters to drive the ball is brilliant.
In my experience, I have seen bowlers go for at least one or two fours with such a field.
"It was the first time I saw a fast bowler bowl to an offspinner's field without a mid-off in a one-day game.
"Tactical brilliance, tactical execution. They had us there."
Cummins' call to bowl first after winning the toss was a major surprise, with Ashwin quizzing Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey about it.
"I asked him (Bailey) why they chose to bowl first when Australia generally bat first in finals," Ashwin said.
"(Bailey) said, 'we have played IPL for many years, toured here for bilateral series.
"As per our experience in India, red soil disintegrates but black soil becomes better to bat under lights. It is tough (to bat) in red soil under lights, too."
Ashwin and fellow star spinner Ravi Jadeja tormented Australia during this year's Border-Gavaskar series in India.
The pair were named dual player of the series after spinning Australia out during the opening two Tests as India claimed an unassailable 2-0 advantage.
Australia saved face with a win and a draw in the final two Tests, but still lost the series 2-1.
