Australia beat India to win the ICC 2023 World Cup final

The Indian cricket team’s hopes of winning the Cricket World Cup 2023 for the third time were dashed as Australia won the final comfortably, capturing their sixth World Cup championship. India started brightly in the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, with Rohit Sharma leading the assault. However, following his departure, progress stalled. Despite half-centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, India’s scoring rate slowed in the middle overs, leading to a total of 240 runs in 50 overs.

Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to field first. India amassed 240 runs on the board. KL Rahul Dravid led the way for India, scoring 66 runs off 107 balls, while Virat Kohli also reached the half-century mark. Kohli and Rahul came to the rescue after India had fallen to 81-3 after losing Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer in the space of five deliveries. Rohit left for 47 in an attempt to increase the run rate.

The Australians got off to a shaky start in their pursuit of 241 as Jasprit Bumrah grabbed the wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith, while Mohammed Shami claimed the scalp of David Warner, leaving them reeling at 47/3.After then, it was all about Head and Marnus Labuschagne, who hit a tough half-century of his own, as they formed an unbreakable connection to get Australia over the line. Australia initially struggled, reaching 47/3 in 7 overs. However, Travis Head’s 192-run combination with Marnus Labuschagne significantly changed the match’s momentum. Head’s amazing 137-run performance was crucial in earning Australia’s sixth ODI World Cup championship.

The last time India won the World Cup was in 2011. Many supporters are similarly optimistic about India winning the next World Cup. Many of India’s famous celebrities and athletes also took to X to congratulate the Indian cricket team on their outstanding performance during the World Cup and to provide their support following their defeat.

Cummins Australian Captain: “I think we saved our best for the last. A couple of big-match players stepped up and chuffed. Today we thought it was a good night to chase and thought it would be easier to chase. The pitch was slower than I thought and didn’t particularly spin and we bowled tight lines. On a slow wicket with variable bounce, we had a couple of catchers on the leg side and made a couple of decisions. Desperate for sure. The boys were fantastic against South Africa. We have an ageing side but everyone throws themselves around. Chuffed with keeping them to 240 – anything under 300 really. I was one of those blokes with the hearts fluttering but Head takes the game on, Marnus… I think the selectors backed him even when he had a broken hand. It’s a big risk and it paid off. How fun is he to watch? It was awesome to play and the passion in India is unrivaled. You just got to go and win a World Cup. You can’t wait for it. It was a shift after two games. The openers were really aggressive and it was a total buy-in from everyone. We will remember this year for a long, long time. This pips it all.”

Rohit Sharma Indian Captain: “I mean the result hasn’t gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day. But proud of the team. It wasn’t supposed to be. Honestly, 20-30 runs would’ve been good. I thought when KL and Virat were batting, we were looking at 270-280 at that point and we kept losing wickets. Australia stitched a big partnership after losing three wickets. With 240 on the board, we wanted early wickets but credit to Travis Head and Marnus. They put us completely out of the game and I thought the wicket got better to bat under lights. I mean we knew under lights, it would be better but don’t want to give that as an excuse. We didn’t bat well enough, but credit to those two guys in the middle for stitching that big partnership.”