World Cup 2023: 'Nothing more satisfying than hearing big crowd go silent', says Australia captain Cummins
World Cup 2023: Aside from facing the tournament's best team, India, in peak form, Australia's biggest challenge in the World Cup 2023 final would be dealing with the expected 1.3 lakh crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The world's largest cricket stadium is expected to be packed for the big final on Sunday, and it is one of the most intimidating places to play cricket against India when it is even close to full, as it was during the group-stage match against Pakistan last month.
A crowd of 1 lakh 30 thousand people, cheering every move of Virat Kohli or every step of Jasprit Bumrah is a nightmare for any opponent, and when it's as big as the World Cup final, it becomes even more difficult.
Australia, on the other hand, is no stranger to such conditions. They have played home matches against India in which blue shirts outnumbered yellow shirts. The stakes for Sunday's match will, of course, be much higher, and the crowd will be much larger than in any other cricket stadium in the world, but Australia captain Pat Cummins said his team is more than ready to take on the challenge.
"I think you've got to embrace it," he said on Saturday. Cummins, like previous Australian captains such as Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, stated that his goal would be to silence the packed crowd in Ahmedabad.
"Obviously, the crowd will be one-sided, but there's nothing more satisfying in sport than hearing a large crowd fall silent, and that's our goal for tomorrow." "Yeah, you just have to embrace every part of it, every part of a final, even though you know there will be noise and more people and interest in the lead-up, and you can't get overwhelmed. You have to be up for it, love it, and just know that whatever happens is fine, but you want to finish the day with no regrets," he added.
- With inputs from agencies
