Australia crowned world champions for the sixth time
November 20, 2023 | SportsGuff Team 4.5K Reads
Australia won the World Cup cricket trophy for a record sixth time on Sunday after opener Travis Head played a brilliant innings of 137 runs. Australia pulled off an impressive 6-wicket victory over India in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Chasing a target of 241 runs for victory, Australia had lost 3 wickets for47 runs. Travis Head along with Marnus Labuschagne then put on a match winning partnership to guide Australia to their sixth title.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Stats
Most runs: Virat Kohli (765)
Highest individual score: Glenn Maxwell (201*)
Most centuries: Quinton de Kock (4)
Most sixes: Rohit Sharma (31)
Most wickets: Mohd Shami (24)
Best figures: Mohd Shami (7/57)
Most WK dismissals: Quinton de Kock (20)
Most outfield catches: Daryl Mitchell (11)
There were 7 overs left when Australia chased down the target. This is India's first defeat in this World Cup, while Australia won 9 consecutive matches after losing their first two matches in the tournament. Head faced 120 balls and hit15 fours and 4 sixes. Head had a decisive 192-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Labuschagne.
Head and Labuschagne played responsible innings. Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 58 off 110 balls. It included 4 fours. Glenn Maxwell came to the crease after Head was dismissed with just a couple of runs required for victory. Among the Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets. After losing the toss and batting first, India lost all wickets and scored 240 runs in 50 overs.
Even though KL Rahul and Virat Kohli completed their respective fifties, it was not enough to put up a big score. Rahul scored 66 runs off 107 balls. He hit only one boundary in his inning. Kohli faced 63 balls and scored 54 runs including 4 fours. Skipper Rohit Sharma scored 47 runs off 31 balls. He was aggressive from the beginning and hit 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Among the Australian bowlers, Mitchell Marsh took 3 wickets for 55 runs. Jos Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins took two wickets each. With the defeat at home, India's dream of winning a first major title since 2013 remained unfulfilled. India won the Champions Trophy that year. Head's century was the seventh in a World Cup final. This is only the third century scored by an Australian batsman in the final. Earlier, Ricky Ponting scored a century in 2003 and Adam Gilchrist in the 2007 final.
Head suffered a hand injury during the tour of South Africa last September and his World Cup dream was in jeopardy. However, Australia decided to keep him in the team. In the sixth match of the league stage, Head scored a decisive century against New Zealand. He also scored a valuable 62 runs in the semi-final win against South Africa in Kolkata.
Head played a crucial innings of 163 runs when Australia defeated India to win the World Test Championship in June. Travis Head was named Player of the Match, while India's Virat Kohli won the player of the series. Kohli completed his record 50th ODI century in this World Cup.
