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In a stadium filled with more than 90,000 raucous Indians, the only noise to be heard, after the rattle of Virat Kohli’s stumps, was the joyous yelp of 11 Australian cricketers.
By defeating Kohli on his way to figures of 2-34 that did not include a single boundary, Pat Cummins put his team on a victory path that was followed with a clinching stand of 192 between the destructive Travis Head and the tenacious Marnus Labuschagne.
Wow: Pat Cummins had a moment to cherish when he had Virat Kohli playing on.Credit: AP
Whether for Kohli’s exit, Head’s century or the winning moment an hour or so later, silence was truly golden for Cummins’ men at Narendra Modi Stadium. Even Modi, India’s Prime Minister and the guest of honour in his home stadium, had to defer to the Australians, handing Cummins the trophy.
As they watched Head and Labuschagne compile the final 20 runs or so, broad smiles and a few hugs were seen in the team viewing area; bubbling over to sheer jubilation when Glenn Maxwell sprinted back for the winning run.
It signified the fact that Cummins’ team had made the leap from good to great by snatching the World Cup from the home side’s grasp with a performance equal parts calm, crafty and courageous.
India had not been beaten nor truly threatened all tournament. But in the finale Australia put together one of the most well-planned and executed displays by the national team in the history of the game.
It will rank with the past World Cup triumphs of Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, but also Mark Taylor’s helming of a Caribbean Test series boilover in 1995: on home soil, India have been almost as dominant as the West Indies once were, but found themselves rendered a distant second to Cummins and company.
The achievement is better yet when looking at 2023 as a whole. Australia’s red and white ball teams were set a Herculean task to tour India and England while also contesting the World Test Championship and the World Cup.
Somehow, as England and India lost steam, Australia forged through to claim both of cricket’s two most prestigious global trophies in the same year. There is durability and resilience in great supply here.
In decision-making terms, that resilience was evident at the coin toss. After two days of speculation about the bare, cracked nature of a used pitch, Cummins chose bravely but rightly to bowl first. As was the case when India beat Australia in Chennai in their opening game, batting in the dry afternoon was more difficult than dewy night.
As was the case against South Africa in the Kolkata semi-final, Australia fielded with tremendous sharpness and purpose. Head stopped a Rohit Sharma boundary second ball of the match, and when India’s skipper threatened to launch his side to a huge total, ran with the flight of a miscued drive to take the catch of the tournament.
Cummins followed up by quickly seeing off the fast-scoring Shreyas Iyer, instantly reducing the ceiling for India’s innings. He then directed traffic through the middle overs, smartly taking advantage of Kohli’s reticence to take too many risks by rotating through Maxwell, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head.
Duly enabled to attack against cowed opponents, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood prospered through reverse swing at one end, Cummins through changes of pace at the other. Suryakumar Yadav’s exit to a Hazlewood slow bouncer was another example of fine planning.
So effectively did Cummins conduct the orchestra – nine different bowlers in 10 overs from 15 to 25, 22 bowling changes in all – that India scored just four boundaries in the closing 40 overs of the innings. In commentary, Harsha Bhogle quipped that India’s batters were trapped in a “high-security prison” of Australia’s making.
Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.Credit: AP
A target of 241 was well within Australia’s range, but the cauldron of the first 10 overs with a moving ball still had to be navigated. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were typically dangerous, and David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith all succumbed, but runs were still scored, and Head had room to recalibrate when Labuschagne joined him.
So much about Australia’s campaign was encapsulated by this pair. Head’s broken hand threatened to derail things entirely, but the selectors’ call to keep him in the squad as he recovered was richly rewarded. Big centuries against India in both Test match and 50-over finals underlined how 29-year-old Head has become as difficult to bowl to as anyone in the world.
At the other end, Labuschagne has somehow fought his way through 19 consecutive games dating back to the start of the South Africa tour that preceded this tournament. Never the team’s first choice, he has scrapped grandly through injuries and misadventures for others to make a contribution, culminating in an innings of Test match quality to complement Head.
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne celebrate winning the World Cup.Credit: AP
India, momentarily loud and proud as those early wickets fell, were gradually worn down. Rohit’s captaincy looked ponderous next to Cummins’ alertness earlier in the day, and the fielding lacked Australia’s sheen. At the 30-over mark, Bumrah flicked off a bail in mounting frustration. The sense of waste would only grow for the hosts.
Head’s innings rather summed up Australia’s campaign, winning nine straight after two initial defeats. He was extremely scratchy early, but something clicked after about 40 balls, and he suddenly became colossal. So it is for Cummins’ men. Playing with smiles on their faces rather than snarls, they have become the world’s best.
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