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Australia win sixth World Cup title after Head hundred sinks India

football19 November 2023 16:56| © MWP
By:Neil Manthorp
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Australian opener, Travis Head, entered World Cup folklore becoming the seventh man to score a century in the final to lead his country to a resounding victory by six-wickets against host nation and overwhelming favourites, India, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Head finished with a glorious 137 from just 120 deliveries as Australia chased down India’s total of 240 all out with 241-4 in 43 overs striking 15 fours and four sixes to utterly dominate the showpiece final which left a record crowd of around 120 000 in stunned silence.

India had romped into the final with ten consecutive victories leaving the majority of India’s fanatic supporters convinced that victory would be a formality but Australian captain Pat Cummins’ brave decision to bowl first paid the richest of dividends.

Marnus Labuschagne played one of the most under-stated roles in World Cup history with a test match-style of innings 58 from 110 balls having come to the crease at a precarious 47-3 but his contribution to a match-winning, fourth-wicket partnership of 192 was as important, if massively less-memorable, than Head’s.

Earlier Mitchell Starc claimed the important wicket of opener Shubman Gill (4) and returned to claim two more in the final overs, including top-scorer KL Rahul (66), to finish with an analysis of 3-55 which went a long way to his team’s eventual success.

Rohit Sharma continued his aggressive approach at the top of the order despite a dry pitch unconducive to fluent batting with a thumping 47 from just 31 balls (4x4, 3x6) but he miscued a drive against offspinner Glenn Maxwell and was superbly caught over his shoulder by player-of-the-match, Head, running from cover.

When Shreyas Iyer (4) was caught by ‘keeper Josh Inglis off Cummins, who saved his best for last with 2-34 from his 10 overs, India were wobbling at 81-3. Virat Kohli (54) and KL Rahul (66) opted for a low-risk approach for the fourth wicket during which they accumulated 67 runs in just over 18 overs.

The crowd was first stunned into silence when the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Kohli, edged a rising delivery from Cummins onto his stumps forcing Rahul further into his shell. Despite the awkward conditions Kohli’s 54 came from 63 balls with just four boundaries.

Ravindra Jadeja (9) edged a delivery from Josh Hazlewood to Inglis as the Australian seamers began to find a hint of reverse-swing and Rahul was dismissed by a wonderful delivery from Starc which straightened just enough to find the outside edge to provide Inglis with another catch.

Hazlewood (2-60) continued his excellent form in the closing stages of the tournament finding the edge of Suryakumar Yadav’s bat to dismiss him for 18 and provide Inglis with a fifth catch.

India’s hopes were ignited quickly at the start of the run-chase when David Warner (7), Mitchell Marsh (15) and Steve Smith (4) were dismissed in the first seven overs but it was ‘slow-death’ for the players and supporters after that.

Head was player-of-the-match in the World Test Championship final against India in June and again in the semifinal against South Africa. His accolade gave him a unique trio in the final. He joined fellow Australians Adam Gilchrist (149) and Ricky Ponting (140) with centuries in the final with Viv Richards, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardena and Clive Lloyd also achieving the feat.

INDIA: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wkt), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

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