By Sam Eyers
It was a humid day in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The stadium of 120,000, was a sea of blue, with the occasional dot of yellow here and there. The Australians were heavily outnumbered and clear underdogs. Only a miracle would prove Australia the win. India batted first and went out like a gun, blasting balls all around the park. That was before Australia ruined the party.
Rohit Sharma was caught by one of the greatest catches ever. Travis Head dove backwards and took an absolute screamer to dismiss Rohit who was on 47. The soon to be player of the tournament, Virat Kohli, was out to a good-length ball outside off stump, that Kohli proceeded to chop onto his own stumps. India ended up scoring 240 all out in their 50 overs, which was a considerable total, given the circumstances. In response, Australia lost David Warner for 7, Marsh for 15 and Smith for 4, in quick succession which left them at 47/3 after 7 overs.
No-one expected the recently injured Travis Head to pull of one of the all-time greatest innings as he and Marnus Labuschagne mounted a 200 run partnership. Marnus scored 58 not out, and Head scored a match winning 137. Head was out, caught on the boundary, with two runs needed for victory. Then the hero, Glenn Maxwell, strode to the crease and won the game. Australia had upset India in one of the greatest ever world cup finals.
The 50 over cricket world cup is a worldwide tournament in which 10 teams compete. This tournament was hosted by India and started on the 5th of October and ended on the 19th of November. Each team plays nine games excluding finals.
The previous World Cup, which was held in England in 2019, had been won in a thrilling and controversial final. In the normal 50 overs, England and New Zealand were tied on score, so the two teams were thrown into a super over, where each team gets to bat for one over, the team with the most runs wins. Yet again the two sides tied, so the result was decided by the number of boundaries each team had scored. England prevailed with 26 boundaries compared to New Zealand’s 17.
England were hot favourites for this world cup, and heavily disappointed fans with their poor performance. In the opening game they were demolished by New Zealand in a rematch of the 2019 grand final. They recovered with a confident win over Bangladesh before falling to last on the table with 5 straight losses. They ended the tournament finishing 7th on the table after a strong last two games.
On the other hand, Australia had a very shaky start in India, losing their first two games against South Africa and India. Then Australia pulled themselves together, fatefully brought Travis Head back into the team, and proceeded to steamroll anyone and everyone in their tracks.
Midway through the tournament, the Australian top order hiccupped and fell to 91/7 after 18 overs in a game against minnows nation Afghanistan. At the time, Maxwell was on 22 and the captain, Patrick Cummins, was walking to the crease. Maxwell reached 50, and before you knew it, he had reached 100. In the meantime, Pat was taking his time, going at a strike rate under 20. With still 80 runs to chase, Maxwell was cramping up. He then went on to hit the Afghan bowlers for six after six after six, without moving his feet. Then he was on 195 with 5 runs to win. Afghanistan’s Mujeeb bowled a ball right in the slot on the leg stump which Maxwell dispatched for six over square leg, winning the game, and bringing up his double-century. Maxwell single-handedly won Australia this crucial game and gave them the confidence they needed for the semi-final.
In the semi-final, Australia met South Africa. The big three bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, and Pat Cummins, were crucial. Together they captured 8 out of South Africa’s 10 wickets. With bat in hand, Travis Head top scored for Australia with a brilliant knock of 60, and, with the ball he was crucial, dismissing two quality batsmen and deservedly acquired the man of the match trophy for the semi-final of the cricket world cup. Australian ended up winning by 3 wickets with 16 balls remaining in their innings.
As you read, Australia then went on to win the world cup in emphatic style. We can only imagine what the 2027 World Cup, in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, will bring.