Aussies clinch 6th Cricket World Cup title

Australia won the Cricket World Cup for a record-extending sixth time today (NZT), ending India’s dominant run in their home tournament with a six-wicket victory in a low-scoring final on the back of Travis Head’s 137.

A heavily pro-Indian crowd inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium was silenced as Head combined with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) in a 192-run partnership to chase down the target of 241.

Australia were wobbling on 47-3 after seven overs but Head and Labuschagne dug in to help the Aussies regain their status as the kings of one-day international cricket, adding to their 50-over world titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.

Head was dismissed off what proved to be the next-to-last ball of the match, caught in the deep while attempting to hit a title-clinching boundary. In came Glenn Maxwell and he ran two off his first ball, securing a victory that prompted fireworks above the world’s largest cricket venue.

India had won all 10 of their matches before the final and were seeking a third trophy in their fourth appearance in a title match that brought a country of 1.4 billion people to a virtual standstill. They were outplayed in every department by Australia, though, restricted to 240 all out on a slow pitch after losing the toss with only Virat Kohli (54) and Lokesh Rahul (66) making half-centuries.

Head became only the fifth player to score a century in a men’s World Cup final – and third Australian after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist – and delivered a significant moment in India’s innings when taking a diving catch running back from cover to remove captain Rohit Sharma (47).

Australia finished the tournament with a run of nine straight wins, after starting with back-to-back defeats to India and South Africa.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission