Australia captain Pat Cummins was over the moon as he led the Kangaroos to their 6th World Cup title. They defeated hosts India in the final of the tournament on November 19 in Ahmedabad in a decisive win.
India was asked to bat first by Pat Cummins who won the toss on a slow surface. Rohit Sharma with 47 gave a quick start to the Indian team, who managed 80/2 in the first 10 overs. Then Virat Kohli and KL Rahul took over and added 67 runs for the 5th wicket.
Virat Kohli made 54 in 63 balls with 4 fours and was looking set to score yet another century and take India to a formidable total. But Pat Cummins ended the hopes of the Indian icon and 130,000 plus fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad by sending Virat back.
Cummins had him play one onto his stumps while trying to defend the dug-in delivery rising on his toes. It led to a stunning silence in the world's largest cricket stadium, which the Australian team "acknowledged".
“We took a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd (after Virat Kohli's wicket). It just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him (Kohli) to score another hundred like he normally does. That (wicket) was satisfying," said Cummins after the final.
Interestingly, a day before the match, Cummins had mentioned silencing the crowd.
"The crowd is going to be very one-sided; but in sport, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that's the aim for us,” he had said ahead of the final.
India put up a below-par 240 on the board with KL Rahul top-scoring with 66. In response, India had Australia 47/3 at one point. But Travis Head (137) and Marnus Labuschagne (58*) added 192 runs and took the game away from the Indian team.
(PTI inputs)
