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 15-0 (1) Warner 7, Head 8, Bumrah 0-15 (1), target 241
First ball...and almost caught! A thick edge from Warner flies between the first and second slip and races away to the boundary. Was that a chance?
Warner pierces the outfield for three before Head crunches one through the covers for four. A superb, authoritative start from the Aussie opener. And again! Down on one knee, he smashes it to the off-side boundary ropes.
FIFTEEN RUNS off the first over - what a statement from Warner and Head.
Second innings coming up
Out come both sets of players and the wait for the second innings is over.
Australia need 241 runs to win this World Cup. That feels like a manageable total but let’s see what these superb Indian bowlers have in store for them.
Bumrah to take the first over...
Pitch invader with ‘Free Palestine’ T-shirt runs up to Virat Kohli during India vs Australia World Cup match
A pitch invader wearing a shirt with messages supporting Palestine breached security on Sunday at the cricket venue of the India versus Australia ICC World Cup 2023 final match in India’s Ahmedabad.
The spectator entered the field reportedly to meet Virat Kohli and even got close enough to put his arm around India’s star cricketer before being arrested by the police, according to reports.
The match at the Narendra Modi stadium in the western state of Gujarat was interrupted for a few minutes in the 14th over of Indian innings as the man was seen running up to Kohli wearing a white T-shirt, a face mask with Palestinian flag print, and red trousers.
The front of his T-shirt read “Stop Bombing Palestine” while the back had “Free Palestine” message printed on it.
Man with ‘Free Palestine’ T-shirt invades field during Cricket World Cup final
Man enters field reportedly to meet Kohli and even gets close enough to put his arm around India’s star cricketer
India set Australia 241 to win
Tightly-poised at the halfway stage:
India set Australia 241 to win
More from Starc: “We bowled second here in the England game we played on this pitch. It was quite dewy and it had a little bit of reverse when we batted in the first innings. Looking at the wicket, it was quite dry and bare so it’s not a surprise so I guess we are hoping that the dew comes in and we don’t see any reverse in the second innings.
“It’s going to be an interesting wicket - it’s not an easy wicket to bat on. I think probably the easiest time to bat is with the hard new ball but we obviously saw through Virat [Kohli] and Rahul that if play yourself in, there is runs to be scored but it’s not going to be easy.”
India set Australia 241 to win
Mitchell Starc speaking after the first innings: “You can always plan for things but the way we came together in the field with the ball was [great]. It’s a fantastic first half of the fixture and it’s our turn with the bat now.
“There’s not a whole heap in the wicket for the seam or swing bowler; we saw the swing go away pretty quickly. We tried different things to get the ball shifting or varying the pace a bit. Pat [Cummins] was fantastic all the way through his spell - Josh [Hazzlewood as well - and obviously a bit of reverse swing on the back end.
We did what we were asked so hopefully we have restricted them to enough.”
India set Australia 241 to win from their 50 overs
Australia must be happy with that effort having put India in to bat in this final. They bowled with great patience and accuracy and really restricted India well after their fast start.
India have been superb throughout the tournament with the ball and that main man Mohammed Shami will have to be at his best. Early inroads are key, one feels.
India set Australia 241 to win
India came out blazing, led by their captain Rohit Sharma, but when his wicket fell it was down to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to build up the total.
They were content to just play the ball around for singles, but there were gaping almost-hour long periods without a boundary that ultimately proved enough to halt India’s run-scoring.
The Australian bowlers bowled expertly and their fielding was second to none. Cutting off boundaries at all time.
In the first 10 overs, India struck at 8 an over, but after that could not reach more than five.
India set Australia 241 to win from their 50 overs
Hazlewood will bowl his last over, Kuldeep sneaks a single through from the first ball.
Siraj has hit a boundary! He hits a four back past Hazlewood down the ground, the flags are out, but they have been hiding a long time.
He follows it up with a single. Kuldeep plays a pull shot for a single, but that boundary has sparked the crowd into life again, and they will want to carry that through into the next innings.
India finish all out for 240, with a run out on the final ball.
India 232-9 (49) Kuldeep 8, Siraj 3, Cummins 2-33 (10)
Cummins has fired down a wide from the second ball, and India may take every single run that comes.
The batters are just fending off the ball, but they have picked up three more runs and pass the 230 mark.
Five runs from the over in total.
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