Australia recorded their sixth ODI World Cup trophy as they hammered Team India by six wickets in the summit clash at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. Australia, who suffered an embarrassing defeat in the World Cup 2023 opener against India, went on to wrap the tournament with a title triumph. From batting to bowling to fielding, everything was bang on from the Pat Cummins' side as they saved best for the last.
Despite getting off to a torrid start while chasing 240, Australian batters showed the winning temperament. After losing the early wickets of David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne steadied Australia's boat and stitched a match-winning 192-run partnership for the fourth wicket. While Head struck a blistering 137 off 120 balls, Labuschagne played a patient knock of 58 off 110 balls to take Australia past the finishing line.
But what caught the great Wasim Akram's attention was Australia's fielding, which turned the face of the match. Barring Rohit Sharma's blistering 47-run knock, none of the Indian batters could play freely, thanks to Australia's spot on bowling and fielding. Australia's fielding performance in the match was nothing short of exceptional. Akram, who deems Australia's biggest gameplan was their fielding prowess, said that Australia save around 25 runs with their sharp fielding which proved instrumental in their title triumph.
“Obviously they must have planned against every batter for field placements in a particular situation. They officially stopped 25 runs, if we add these 25 runs (to the total) then it could be around 265-270, which is a lot of pressure in the final,” Akram told Sportskeeda
“That’s why fielding is so important. I’ve been saying this for the last 20-30 years. In batting and bowling, you need talent but fielding comes through fitness and hard work,” he added.
KL Rahul emerged as the top scorer for India with a patient knock of 66 runs off 107 balls, while Virat Kohli chipped in with 54 runs off 63 deliveries. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the Australian bowlers, claiming 3/55, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood picked up two wickets each.
Australia and India will next lock horns with each other in the upcoming T20I series which is slated to kick off from November 23.
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