 "IND-AUS Final: Australia continue World Cup dominance, crush India's dream")
Australia continued their dominance in the World Cups as they won their record sixth title at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19. It dealt yet another blow to Indian cricket team and their fans whose wait for an ICC event trophy is extended yet again. India last won an ICC event ten years ago in 2013, when MS Dhoni’s men lifted the Champions Trophy.
What happened in the India vs Australia final?
Australia, which never looked like the title contenders, kept fighting and winning, finding an unusual hero in every game. In the final, it was their pace trio of Mitchell Starc, skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. They were taken to the cleaners early on by Rohit Sharma, but later on, Starc utilised reverse swing to great effect. Cummins, along with spinners Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell put pressure on KL Rahul and Virat Kohli as India lost three wickets in quick succession.
Ultimately, India could only get to 240 all-out in their 50 overs. Chasing a below-par target on a sluggish pitch, Australia lost three quick wickets early on. But because they knew the target, Travis Head changed his game and adapted to the conditions. He utilised the dew factor and hit a magnifecent hundred. He managed to take his team home along with Marnus Labuschagne, who also hit a fifty.
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India’s trophy wait extended
India have now made it to either the semi-final or final of three ODI World Cups, two World Test Championships and three T20 World Cups in the last ten years. Add to that the loss in the Champions Trophy of 2017, and there have been nine occasions where the team failed to lift the trophy in the end.
Shami and Virat at the top of the charts
Virat Kohli with 762 runs led the chart of the top-run getters in the World Cup 2023 and won the Golden Bat. India had the Golden Ball too as Mohammed Shami finished as the leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in only seven matches.
Top Run Getters in ICC Cricket World Cup 2203
Top Run Getters in ICC Cricket World Cup 2203
| Player | Inns | Runs | Ave | 100 | 50 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 11 | 765 | 95.62 | 3 | 6 |
| RG Sharma (IND) | 11 | 597 | 54.27 | 1 | 3 |
| Q de Kock (SA) | 10 | 594 | 59.4 | 4 | - |
| R Ravindra (NZ) | 10 | 578 | 64.22 | 3 | 2 |
| DJ Mitchell (NZ) | 9 | 552 | 69 | 2 | 2 |
Top wicket-takers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
| Player | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR |
| Mohammed Shami (IND) | 7 | 24 | 7/57 | 10.7 | 5.26 | 12.2 |
| A Zampa (AUS) | 11 | 23 | 4/8 | 22.39 | 5.36 | 25.04 |
| D Madushanka (SL) | 9 | 21 | 5/80 | 25 | 6.7 | 22.38 |
| JJ Bumrah (IND) | 11 | 20 | 4/39 | 18.65 | 4.06 | 27.55 |
| G Coetzee (SA) | 8 | 20 | 4/44 | 19.8 | 6.23 | 19.05 |
Australia take the lead in knockouts against India
This was the fifth meeting in the World Cup knockouts between the two teams. Having won the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup, Australia lost in the semi-final of the 2007 T20 World Cup and then in the quarterfinal of the 2011 ODI World Cup. India led 2-1 before they went down in the semi-final of the 2015 ODI World Cup. Before this final the record was 2-2, but with the win in this game, the knockout battle has now gone in favour of the Aussies 3-2.