Pitched on a perfect length and swinging away from the off stump, Jasprit Bumrah had got the first ball of Australia’s innings in the right place.

There was no way David Warner could keep his bat away and fell for the bait. The thick outside edge landed between first and second slip but neither Virat Kohli nor Shubman Gill dived for the catch.

Both watched in desperation as the ball raced to the fence. It landed closer to Kohli but both thought that the other would dive for it and didn’t make an attempt.

Bumrah threw his arms around as if he was complaining to Rohit Sharma at mid-off. With only 240 to defend, every chance had to be taken and no opportunity could be let off.

The round-robin matches showed that India’s Fab Five bowlers were capable of running through any team in this World Cup. India could defend any score and there was hope even after a modest batting performance on Sunday.

The early promise, however, never really took off. The Australians tried to follow Rohit’s high-risk, high-gain approach and didn’t take a step back even after being 47/3 in the seventh over.

The wicket was slow and low and the ball had been stopping and coming making the batters’ task difficult. For the first time in this World Cup, Rohit decided to open the attack with Bumrah and Shami.

The pressure of expectations and failure showed on the players. KL Rahul conceded a few byes and there were misfields as well. But the attack lacked the bite that had helped India record an unbeaten 10-match streak.

Mitchell Starc had raised hopes during the India innings by getting the ball to reverse but none of the Indians had such luck. Once Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne got going the Indians seemed to throw in the towel.

There was no attempt to make things happen. The white ball hardly swings after the first Powerplay and Head knew not allowing the bowlers to settle down would work in their favour.

Bumrah and Shami did make it tough but the Australians made batting look easier. There weren’t many shots behind square during the India innings but Head excelled in that area.

Siraj’s length was too predictable for the batters and spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav never caused much trouble. There was turn on offer but the Australians never stopped attacking.

Jadeja almost struck in his first over but his leg before shout against Head was negated since it turned too much and was missing the stumps. He was bowling around the wicket to left-hander Head and it was tough to get a leg before decision when it’s angled across.

The lack of a sixth bowling option lay exposed. This is what the team management always feared since the injury to Hardik Pandya. It showed against New Zealand in
the semi-finals but timely breakthroughs never allowed Kane Williamson’s men to come back.

In the final, with a small total to defend, Rohit had no options to risk when the regular bowlers got smashed. Still, Bumrah and Shami provided hope with quick wickets but the limitations of the attack showed.

Rohit has always believed that the toss has no effect on the outcome. It didn’t on Sunday despite so much talk about dew.

It was a matter of nerves and as Head put the attack under stress, they collapsed. They didn’t have a plan B as the spinners were hit to every corner of the ground.

This is what pressure often does to the best in the business. A final is not just
about a show of skills and temperament, it is about handling pressure.