Fittingly the two pre-tournament favourites reached the ICC World Cup Final as host nation India took on the Australian men’s cricket team. Both teams had been in great form with India having a perfect 10 game winning streak on the way to the final whereas Australia lost their first 2 games but went on to win their last 8 matches.
ICC World Cup Semi Finals
The Indian cricket national team faced an inconsistent New Zealand side in the first semi final. India won the toss and chose to bat with centuries from former captain Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer they finished their 50 overs with 397/4. Daryl Mitchell played a fantastic knock of 134 from 119 balls as the New Zealand national cricket team were all out for 327 runs in their attempted chase. Mohammed Shami (IND) was the player of the match with a sensational 7 wicket haul.
In the other semi final, Australia came up against the dark horses of the tournament in South Africa. The South African cricket team won the toss and decided to bat first, however they quickly found themselves at 24/4 after 12 overs with star man Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma being amongst the early wickets to fall. Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller steadied the ship with valuable contributions, the latter scored a much needed 101 runs to take South Africa to a total of 212 all out from 49.4 overs. Australia weren’t overly convincing in their run chase as only Travis Head reached over 50 runs. They eventually stuttered over the finishing line with 215/7 with 16 balls remaining.
ICC World Cup Final 2023
India were massive favourites going into the final as their invincible run to the final and home advantage looked to be too much for any team. However 5 times ICC ODI World Cup champions Australia always seem to rise to the occasion when it really matters. Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl first, as he predicted batting conditions would be more favourable later in the match.
India’s Stop-Start Innings
India got off to a great start at 76/1 through 9 overs with captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli finding their way with early boundaries. This was until a mishap from Sharma led to a superb catch from Travis Head as he went to play the spin of Glenn Maxwell onto the leg side but the ball cannoned off his bat into the off-side. Semi final hero Shreyas Iyer (IND) was out for just 4 runs from 3 balls, however wicketkeeper KL Rahul came in to top score with 66 runs from 107 as India finished 240 all out from their full 50 overs.
The wickets were shared by the Australian bowlers with Mitchell Starc taking 3/55, Josh Hazlewood 2/60 and Pat Cummins 2/34. There were also valuable wickets from spinners Adam Zampa (1/44) and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (1/35).
Travis Head Leading The Way To Victory
Australia looked to be aggressive in their run chase as they scored 15 from the first over. Then the wickets started to fall with David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith all going for a combined 26 runs, leaving Australia 47/3 and India strongly believing they can win the match. This was until the 192 run partnership between Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne took the game away from the host nation.
Travis Head scored a phenomenal 137 runs from 120 balls with 15 fours and 4 sixes as Labuschagne looked steady with 58 runs from 110 balls. Their partnership was the second highest ever in a World Cup final and it proved to be too much for India as the party atmosphere in the ground was silenced. Travis Head looked to finish the game off in style with a boundary, however he was agonisley caught by Shubman Gill at deep mid-wicket. Then entered Glenn Maxwell to hit the winning 2 runs from his first and only ball.
Australia ICC World Cup Champions 2023
Australia have become the first team to win the World Cup on foreign soil since 2007. They are the current World Test Champions as well as The Ashes holders, now this World Cup tops off what has been a fantastic 2023 for Australian Cricket.
Next up for Australia is a 5 match T20 series with India, starting just 4 days after the epic final victory. This is then followed by a 3 test match home series against the Pakistan national cricket team.
Cricket To Look Forward In 2024
The cricketing world’s attention will turn to the 9th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which is taking place in the United States and West Indies in June 2024. England are the current holders of the T20 World Cup, however the bookies currently have India and Australia as the favourites after their impressive displays in this tournament.
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