Australian captain Pat Cummins after receiving the trophy after defeating India in the final in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Gareth Copley
Australia saved its best for the last and the ICC ODI World Cup 2023-win pips everything, a chuffed-up captain Pat Cummins said during the post-match presentation at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Australia defeated India by six wickets, chasing down a target of 241 runs with seven overs to spare. Travis Head led the chase with his 137 runs and Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 58 from 110 balls.
Cummins said, “Marnus with a cool head and Travis does what he does on the biggest stage, showed a lot of character. The selectors have backed him in, and it is a big risk that we took, and it paid off.”
Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first on what turned out to be a slow wicket where India was bundled out for 240 runs.
“It was a bit slower than I thought, didn’t particularly spin probably as much as we thought either. Everyone adjusted pretty well and bowled some tight lines,” Cummins said. “I thought 300 might have been tough but achievable on that wicket. We were really happy with 240,” he added.
Australia won the World Test Championship in July earlier this year against the same opponent – India. Cummins said that this win comes right at the top of the mountain.
“You gotta go and win the World Cup, you can’t wait for it to happen. This year will be remembered for a long, long time and we had a lot of success over the winter and this one peaks it all. At the top of the mountain.”