Pat Cummins said captaining Australia to Sunday's World Cup triumph over hosts India was the "pinnacle in cricket". Australia chased down India's total of 240 with seven overs to spare to claim a six-wicket win at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, dashing the hopes of a first World Cup title since 2011 for the cricket-mad nation of more than a billion people.
The final was a personal triumph for Cummins, whose decision to field first was vindicated as India, who had won all 10 of their games leading up to the final, saw their batsmen struggle to build any meaningful partnerships. "That's huge, that's the pinnacle in cricket, winning a World Cup, especially here in India, in front of a crowd like this," said Cummins.
It has been a personal and professional rollercoaster for Cummins in 2023. In March, he returned home from a tour of India to be with his mother, Maria, before she died. "I've obviously had a really big year.
I know my family at home is watching, just got a message from dad saying he's had a lot of 4am wake-ups, not going to bed until 4am, so he's as pumped as anything. "You sacrifice a lot to play for Australia and everyone in the team has and we've spent a lot of this year away but we do it for these moments." India star batsman Virat Kohli ended the match having set a new record for most runs – 765 – at a single World Cup.