[EXCLUSIVE] "India got side-tracked regarding the pitch at the crucial moment": David 'Bumble' Lloyd

[MenInG]

David 'Bumble' Lloyd speaks with Saj for PakPassion about the following topics:

What makes the Australian cricketers so mentally tough?
How did Australia turn it around after losing their first two games?
Keeping the Indian crowd quiet would have been one of Australia’s main aims
What went wrong for India in the final?
The pitch issue seemed to side-track India.
The post-match presentation for the World Cup final.
Babar Azam’s decision to resign as Pakistan captain.
The current chaos in Pakistan cricket with all the comings and goings.
Why the blame game in Pakistan cricket ultimately hurts the players.

 

[FearlessRoar]

After India lost the final, I'm convinced that there was nothing wrong with the pitches. Our Pakistani media has hyped it unnecessarily. I agree with David Lloyd; let's not involve the pitch. India was really good in this ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

 

[Champ_Pal]

After India lost the final, I'm convinced that there was nothing wrong with the pitches. Our Pakistani media has hyped it unnecessarily. I agree with David Lloyd; let's not involve the pitch. India was really good in this ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

Pitch was same for both teams. Indian bowlers better exploited the new ball. They had most of the teams on the ropes by the end of 15 overs.
In the finals, Australia weathered the new ball spell from Indian pacers. Travis Head was lucky to survive 2 overs from Bumrah where he looked clueless. Once that burst of spell from Bumrah was over, he belted everyone after that.

Indian spinners could not do much on a slow turning pitch. It was Australia's grit while facing the new ball Indian spell that won them the finals. India looked clueless as to what to do when Aus survived the new ball. It also helped Australia that they only had 240 to chase.

India were really good and were champions until the finals. There is no cigar for runner ups.

 

[zarak]

Pitch was the same but pitch selection was not. Playing Australia in Chennai on a turner and playing Netherlands in Bangalore on a flat deck.

That being said you don't win ten out of ten because of pitches. They used the home advantage and made good planning decisions, but there is nothing really sinister about it. They were a balanced team that could exploit all pitches.

 

[Farabi]

I’ve read Australia lost first 2 games and turned it around whereas Pak won first 2 games. This is a highly irrelevant stat. What matters in round robin format is WHO you won it against. Pak won its first two games vs the weakest teams.
Australia lost 2 games to India and South Africa, which were the 2 favorites and toughest teams. It was only going to get easier from there. Whereas Pak won against SL and NL.

 

[Saj]

I find it really interesting to hear the views of non-Pakistani former players/coaches about the way Pakistan cricket is run.

Shambles, chaos are two of the words that quite rightly often spring to mind.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think we should get out of this pitch pitch stuff. I totally agree with what Bumble has said. India was dominating throughout the tournament and they lost in the final because Australia was the better team that day. We should not say that pitch was rigged because India was winning and it was not rigged in final as India lost. Let just accept the fact that better team won the match.

 

[RamLakhan]

Thankfully this got settled (pitch issue)

 

[Third Man]

I think we should get out of this pitch pitch stuff. I totally agree with what Bumble has said. India was dominating throughout the tournament and they lost in the final because Australia was the better team that day. We should not say that pitch was rigged because India was winning and it was not rigged in final as India lost. Let just accept the fact that better team won the match.

The pitch in the final was deliberately prepared to be slow. They used the same approach against England, SA and Australia: play on slow and used surfaces to help Indian spinners. But the pitch in the final was way too slow and there was dew in the 2nd innings. That strategy backfired. What most people are saying is that if India had prepared a normal road of a pitch, the Indian batsmen, who are natural stroke makers would've been in a much better position and could've posted a mammoth total and won the game.

 

[emranabbas]

After India lost the final, I'm convinced that there was nothing wrong with the pitches. Our Pakistani media has hyped it unnecessarily. I agree with David Lloyd; let's not involve the pitch. India was really good in this ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

India couldn't tamper with the pitch after pat Cummins took a picture the night before