Dhaka,   Tuesday 19 March 2024

The South Asian Times | সাউথ এশিয়ান টাইমস
Australia complete Hexa

Australia complete Hexa

Travis Head hit a magnificent hundred in the World Cup final to lead Australia to a record-extending sixth World Cup final as they beat India by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.  It was Australia`s third ICC title in a space of 24 months. Australia were reduced to 47-3 but Head played his natural game and nullified the threat posed by one of the best bowling sides in the tournament.  Head (137 off 120) became the seventh batter to score a hundred in a World Cup final and the first since Mahela Jayawardene in 2011.  The southpaw was the third batter to achieve the feat. Ricky Ponting scored a hundred in the 2003 final and Adam Gilchrist did so in the 2007 edition.  Earlier this year, Head hit a match-winning hundred in the World Test Championship final.  Labuschagne gave him good support with a patient fifty. Australia pacers had a field day as they restricted India to 240.  Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bowl first. While Rohit Sharma (47 off 31) got off to a rocket of a start as usual, Shubman Gill, who has a fantastic record across formats in Ahmedabad, fell early to Mitchell Starc.  Virat Kohli came in all guns blazing but Rohit soon fell to Glenn Maxwell thanks to a fantastic catch from Travis Head three runs short of his half century.  Cummins then got the in-form Shreyas Iyer in the next over and KL Rahul and Kohli then tried to steady the Indian ship.  The boundaries dried up almost entirely after the 10th over and Kohli fell after scoring on 54 off 63.  Rahul tried to hold the innings together but India were dealt another blow when Ravindra Jadeja, promoted ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, fell in the 36th over. Rahul scored 66 off 107 before Mitchell Starc got the better of him. Onus then was on Suryakumar Yadav (18 off 28) but he failed to finish well. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins shared seven wickets among them.

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