Australia won their sixth men’s 50-over World Cup title and spoiled India’s party in Ahmedabad as Travis Head’s superb century capped a ruthless display in the final.
Set a modest target of 241 to win after a ruthless bowling display, Australia were rocked early on as David Warner was caught by Virat Kohli off Mohammed Shami’s bowling for just seven. A packed, partisan crowd were jubilant when Jaspreet Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh (15) and Steve Smith (four) in quick succession.
That proved to be as good as it got for the hosts, though, as Travis Head struck a nerveless 137 off 120, in a partnership with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) that slowly drained the belief from their opponents and the fans watching on.
By the time Head was caught out, Australia needed just two more runs to win and Glenn Maxwell immediately hit them. India had won all 10 matches on their way to the final but Australia, who began with two defeats, have the trophy.
Pat Cummins had put India in to bat and Rohit Sharma got their innings off to a strong start before he was well caught by Head for a 31-ball 47. The hosts lost both Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer for four runs each, but really began to hit trouble when Cummins struck, Virat Kohli inside-edging onto his stumps for 54, leaving India 148-4.
Josh Hazlewood took out the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja for just nine and after Starc dismissed Lokesh Rahul to end his gritty knock of 66, India were 203-6. The tail added another 37 runs before Kuldeep Yadav was run out off the final ball of the innings. A target of 241 felt too low, and so it proved as India’s World Cup dream slipped away.
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