Australia had won the 2023 ODI World Cup under Pat Cummins’ leadership, beating hosts India in the final. After a disappointing start to their campaign, the Aussies picked up pace as the tournament progressed, with the side’s incredible comeback win against Afghanistan marking the turnaround for the side. It was a rather one-sided final in the end, with Australia bowling the hosts out on 240 before chasing down the target with six wickets remaining.
However, the celebrations were quite muted when the players returned to Australia. There were no fanfare, and footage of Pat Cummins arriving at the airport went viral as there were hardly any fans to greet him after the World Cup win. The Aussie captain finally spoke on the viral video, revealing that there was plenty of buzz surrounding the Australian victory in the World Cup.
While Cummins admitted that the Aussies didn’t take to the streets – something which would’ve likely happened in India had Rohit Sharma’s men lifted the trophy – the players were greeted enthusiastically by their fellow countrymen wherever they went.
“That’s Australia for you. It’s great, it’s peaceful!” Cummins said as he laughed, talking about the reception in an interview with SportsTak.
“It’s a little bit different because everyone flies off to different states. We didn’t have one big celebration back in Australia, but I can tell you that everyone was buzzing.
“Every time we went out on the streets over the next couple of weeks, everyone was absolutely buzzing about the World Cup final, as were we as players. It might not be streets lined up like you would’ve got here if India won, but people there were pretty happy.”
This was Australia’s sixth World Cup title and fifth in the last seven editions, as the side reiterated its dominance in the ODI format. Team India, meanwhile, was left disappointed as they had been unbeaten throughout the entire tournament.
Cummins eyes IPL win
The Australian fast bowler will now look to add an IPL title to his trophy-laden CV as he leads the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. SRH defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier of the ongoing season on Friday night, securing a rematch against Shreyas Iyer’s men. SRH’s only title win came in 2016, interestingly under the captaincy of another Australia, too – David Warner.
