Australia are world champions once again, and on Sunday, 19 November their sixth ODI World title came at the expense of Rohit Sharma's Indian team who they defeated by 6 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Australia is now the only country to win six men's ODI World Cup titles, having previously tasted victories in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015. India won two World Cups in 1983 and 2011.
In Sunday's final, Pat Cummins' side bundled out India for 240 in 50 overs courtesy of Mitchell Starc's three wickets (3/55) and two wickets each from Pat Cummins (2/34) and Josh Hazlewood (2/60) before Head slammed a gutsy ton to take the Team from Down Under over the line.
"The result has not gone our way. We were not good enough today. We tried everything but it wasn't supposed to be. 20-30 runs more would have been good, KL and Kohli were stitching a good partnership and we were looking at 270-280 but we kept losing wickets," said a visibly upset Rohit Sharma after the match.
India Put Into Bat First by Cummins
Earlier in the day, Australia's bowling masterclass helped bowl India out for 240 in the allotted 50 overs. Rohit Sharma gave the team a blazing start, but Australia made comebacks with regular wickets to put the hosts on the back foot.
Starc dismissed Shubman Gill in the fifth over to put a break on the run-scoring but Rohit kept hitting the odd boundaries and stitched a 46-run stand with Virat Kohli.
India went past 50 in just 6.2 overs as Kohli joined the party and hit three consecutive fours. Both batters looked good in the middle to take the run-scoring a step further but Rohit mistimed a shot in Glenn Maxwell's over and Travis Head took a blinder running towards his back.
Things got worse for the Men In Blue, as India lost another wicket in the very next over with Shreyas Iyer going back to the pavilion without troubling the score much and the hosts were reduced to 81/3 in the 11th over.
Kohli and K.L Rahul then steadied the ship for the hosts and took India's score past the 100-run mark in the 16th over. The partnership slowed down the run rate tremendously, but managed to stop the fall of wickets. Pat Cummins though ended their fightback as he dismissed Kohli in the 29th over on 54.
Ravindra Jadeja, surprisingly sent in ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, failed to make an impact and was dismissed in the 36th over on 9. As India crossed the 200-run mark in the 41st over, a final push seemed imminent. However, Starc's return to the attack saw the crucial dismissal of Rahul on 66. With Suryakumar Yadav holding onto one end, India kept losing wickets as both Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were dismissed cheaply.
Suryakumar and Kuldeep Yadav then added 12 runs for the ninth wicket before Josh Hazlewood dismissed the batter on a slower bouncer. With Suryakumar's wicket, India's hopes of going past the 250-run mark came to an end as the hosts were reduced to 226/9 in the 48th over.
In the end, India were only able to score 240 runs in the allotted 50 overs with Kuldeep and Mohammed Siraj scoring 10 and 9 respectively.
Australia's Chase
The chase saw an exhilarating start for Australia, with a blazing 15 runs in the very first over. However, the momentum shifted as Mohammad Shami removed David Warner in the second over.
Warner's departure came as a result of an attempted drive that saw the ball swing away, leading to an edge caught by Virat Kohli at slip. Despite this early setback, Mitchell Marsh counter-attacked, contributing with a six and a four, propelling Australia beyond the 40-run mark within four overs.
The crowd erupted once again when Bumrah dismissed Marsh in the fifth over, leaving Australia at 41/2. Bumrah's subsequent over proved crucial as he claimed another wicket, delivering a peach of a delivery that caught Steve Smith in front of the stumps. Although Smith contemplated a review, he opted against it, and Australia found themselves at 47/3 in the seventh over.
The partnership between Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne was the turning point for Australia, as they orchestrated a remarkable recovery, taking the score from 47/3 to 93/3 in the next 10 overs.
In the 27th over, Head and Labuschagne's partnership soared past the 100-run mark, bringing Australia close to the 150-run milestone. Despite India's attempt to challenge an LBW decision against Labuschagne, the batter survived, benefitting from DRS as that went with the umpire's call.
As the game gradually slipped out of India's grasp, Australia comfortably achieved the target in the 43rd over with 42 balls to spare, securing a convincing victory.
(With inputs from IANS)
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