India vs Australia LIVE: Cricket World Cup final reaction after Travis Head century leads Aussies to victory
Australia stunned hosts India to win the Cricket World Cup final by six wickets in Ahmedabad
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Australia won a record-extending sixth World Cup title after opener Travis Head smashed a magnificent century to fashion their six-wicket victory in Sunday’s final against the tournament’s form team India.
Put into bat, India rode battling half-centuries by KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to post a below-par 240 all out in exactly 50 overs at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium.
Australia suffered a top-order wobble of their own but Head’s 137 off 120 balls saw them romp home with seven overs to spare in a match that never reached great heights.
Around 93,000 predominantly Indian fans sat mostly in deathly silence as the home team, who had won 10 matches in a row to make the final, succumbed to their first loss of the tournament
Relive all the match action and reaction below:
Australia 99-3 (19) Labuschagne 13, Head 43, Siraj 0-10 (2), target 241
A nice tip and run from Labuschagne brings up the 50 partnership off 71 balls between him and Head. A great rebuild from these two but the job is far from over.
Four runs off the over as Australia close in on 100.
Australia 95-3 (18) Labuschagne 11, Head 41, Kuldeep 0-18 (4), target 241
Kuldeep remains in the attack as India continue with spin at one end. Just the couple of runs from the over but Australia can just play it safe at the minute. It’s India that need to make something happen with only 241 on the board.
Australia 93-3 (17) Labuschagne 10, Head 40, Siraj 0-6 (1), target 241
India’s final front-line bowler comes into the attack as Siraj is handed the ball for the first time. Head looks to get on top of him right away but it’s superbly stopped by Kohli at short cover.
He does get him away, however, a few balls later as he punches Siraj to the boundary.
Australia 87-3 (16) Labuschagne 9, Head 35, Kuldeep 0-16 (3), target 241
Well...that’s one way to break the succession of singles and dots! A huge six from Head on the sweep as the stadium falls silent. Effortless power from the Aussie opener.
Nine runs off the over.
Australia 78-3 (15) Labuschagne 8, Head 27, Jadeja 0-11 (3), target 241
Four more off Jadeja’s third over. Both these spinners are rattling through their opening spell but Australia look happy to knock them about for easy singles at this stage.
Australia 74-3 (14) Labuschagne 6, Head 25, Kuldeep 0-7 (2), target 241
Just ticking over now - this game - at this stage. Four singles off the over but that’s all Australia really need at this stage.
Australia 70-3 (13) Labuschagne 4, Head 23, Jadeja 0-7 (2), target 241
Head is ticking over nicely but Labuschagne is now four off 19 deliveries so far. He tends to start slowly but Australia won’t want him to go completely into his shell here. Two off the over.
Australia 68-3 (12) Labuschagne 3, Head 22, Kuldeep 0-3 (1), target 241
And it will be spin at both ends as Kuldeep comes into the attack at the other end. Australia are a bit over the required run rate currently, and they’ll be keen to keep it that way and not get bogged down in this period of the game.
But it’s a good start from the leg-spinner. Just three runs from his first over.
Australia 65-3 (11) Labuschagne 1, Head 21, Jadeja 0-5 (1), target 241
The powerplay is finished and India turn straight to spin as Jadeja comes into the attack. More poor keeping from Rahul as he lets another two wides pass him by. A few more from the over but definitely some signs of spin as Head catches one on the pads. India deliberate over a review but I think that’s going down leg.
Australia 60-3 (10) Labuschagne 0, Head 19, Shami 1-33 (5), target 241
Some welcome runs to relieve the pressure as Head finds back-to-back boundaries against Shami, first carving it fine past short third man before bludgeoning one down the ground.
He almost chops on with the very next ball, though! He’s a proactive batter but that sure doesn’t come without its risks.
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