Australia's star spinner Adam Zampa shone bright in the World Cup final against India at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. India succumbed to Australia's lethal bowling attack and were bowled out for a paltry total of 240 in the grand finale of the ODI World Cup on Sunday.
Zampa delivered a frugal spell of 1/44 in the final, while the pacers caused India's batting collapse with back-to-back breakthroughs. The Aussie pacers accounted for seven wickets, with Mitchell Starc leading the charge with three dismissals, while Josh Hazlewood and skipper Pat Cummins contributed with two scalps each.
Zampa and Maxwell each added one wicket to their respective hauls. While Maxwell claimed the prized wicket of Rohit Sharma, Zampa sent Jasprit Bumrah packing. This was Zampa's sole wicket in the innings, bringing his tournament tally to a remarkable 23 wickets.
With this, Zampa emulated Sri Lanka spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan's sensational record of most wickets in a single edition of the ODI World Cup. Zampa and Muralitharan both are tied with 23 wickets.
Australia ended up lifting the World Cup 2023 trophy after bulldozing India by six wickets riding on Travis Head's headstrong century.
Despite raising eyebrows with his decision to field first, Australian skipper Pat Cummins found his bowlers, aided by some exceptional fielding, putting the brakes on India's scoring rate. Indian captain Rohit Sharma, known for his ability to set the tone for his team's batting innings throughout the tournament, continued his fine form in the final, despite the early departure of Shubman Gill. Displaying his trademark aggression, Virat Kohli (54) unleashed a flurry of three boundaries off Starc's bowling. However, India's batting fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse in the 11th over when Shreyas Iyer was dismissed by Pat Cummins, leaving India reeling at 81/3. Undeterred by the early setbacks, Kohli and KL Rahul (66) embarked on a cautious rebuilding effort, even if it meant enduring a prolonged period of 16.1 overs without a boundary. Kohli, the tournament's leading run-scorer, notched up his ninth half-century in 11 innings, but his stay was cut short when he chopped a Cummins delivery onto his stumps. Rahul, known for his elegant strokeplay, found the going tough on the testing pitch and managed just one boundary in his half-century. His struggle highlighted the difficulties faced by batsmen in finding fluent scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Australia's wicketkeeper Josh Inglis pouched five catches, etching his name in the record books for holding the most catches in a World Cup final.
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