Australia wins the Cricket World Cup AGAIN! Travis Head hits an incredible century to stun India and give Pat Cummins his biggest moment as captain

Australia are cricket’s one-day world champions for the sixth time after they outwitted hosts and favorites India on a famous night at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Their hero was opener Travis Head, whose superior 137 from 120 balls steered a chase of 241 through the choppy waters of 47 for three with the help of the vigilant Marnus Labuschagne.

To the disbelief of more than 92,000 fans, they added an increasingly easy 192 as victory came with seven overs to spare. It didn’t matter that Head fell while aiming for the winning goal. Glenn Maxwell drew the next two balls, and the Australian players sprinted onto the field in jubilation. Only Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting, who posted an unbroken 234 for Australia against India in Johannesburg in 2003, have shared a bigger position in a world championship. Cup final.

Above all, this was a triumph for captain Pat Cummins, who bravely chose to bowl in the afternoon heat, took the key wicket of Virat Kohli and rotated his bowlers as India became hopelessly stuck in the middle overs.

Cummins is not always known for his tactical acumen, but he played blindside here and can now add the one-day World Cup to the World Test Championship that Australia won at The Oval in June when India were again the victims.

Add to that retaining the Ashes – Manchester rain or otherwise – and he has built quite the CV to wave at those who think he should be replaced by Steve Smith.

But this was as much India’s despair as Australia’s joy, and they become the first home side not to win the World Cup since the West Indies in 2007.

They had the best batsman of the tournament in Kohli, and the best bowler in Mohammed Shami. They even let the BCCI pull the strings behind the scenes to ensure the most pleasant surfaces. But despite rolling out their own red carpet, they managed to trip themselves up.

The pressure of expectation played a role. While India won ten out of ten matches in the group stages and semi-finals, they built an image that encouraged their fans to believe that they would not screw up in a knockout match this time. And you can see why: for 10/11ths of this competition they have reigned supreme.

Perhaps they needed more thorough testing more often. Their body language was ominously silent as New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson had threatened to harass them during Wednesday’s semi-final in Mumbai. Now it was completely silent.

Australia, however, know how to win trophies, and the fighting spirit that has seen them overcome two early defeats – against India themselves and South Africa – was on display again after a stuttering start to their chase.

In the second over, David Warner ended a cut-off Shami and was caught by Kohli at slip for seven – a loose stroke, but one that indicated Australia’s determination to get ahead of the pace before the spinners of India emerged.

It was 41 for two when Mitchell Marsh made a flashing cut off Jasprit Bumrah to trail by 15. Six runs later, Smith, on four, was trapped in Bumrah’s crease, whose appeal was answered in the affirmative by umpire Richard Kettleborough . .

For once, Smith refused to ask for a review, only to show DRS that he had gone outside the line of the stump. It was a moment that seemed to indicate that things might go India’s way.

But if Head, the non-aggressor, felt guilty about failing to convince Smith to use the technology, he began to make amends. As Labuschagne pushed and pushed, Head played the shots, went to a half-century off 58 balls, knocked Shami back down and wristed Bumrah over midwicket.

Labuschagne survived a tight lbw shout on 34 against Bumrah, and Head would have been run out on 99 had Ravindra Jadeja hit from the covers. Seconds later, he celebrated a brave but classy century off 95 balls.

But as the partnership continued to grow and the fans began to drift away, only one outcome became possible. The empty stands were a heartbreaking sight for a team that expected so much more.

Earlier, the Indian innings was smooth enough at 76 for one in the 10th over, with only the wicket of Shubman Gill – who pulled Mitchell Starc to middle – showing Cummins deciding to bowl first.

But Rohit Sharma was superbly caught by Glenn Maxwell at Head and ran back to cover to intercept a huge lead.

Sharma was on course for an otherwise imperious 47 off 31 balls, and when Cummins left Shreyas Iyer behind in the next over, India were suddenly 81 for three.

Cummins, who was bowling like a dream, had said beforehand that he would try to silence a large crowd, and his plan worked admirably.

With Ravichandran Ashwin left out again, this Indian team has four rabbits, and a combination of that fear, plus a slow delivery, meant Kohli and KL Rahul in particular settled for consolidation.

When Rahul Maxwell paddle-swept a four, it was both his first boundary, off his 59th ball, and the first of the innings for 98. The warning was understandable, but it took both for me to continue.

Instead, Kohli – having recorded his ninth score of 50 or more in 11 innings of a record-breaking tournament – continued against Cummins. Shortly afterwards, when Australia got the ball back, Ravindra Jadeja fell nine seconds behind Hazlewood, before Rahul beat Starc on 66.

His own half-century had come off 86 balls, with a single four. It was the slowest 50 of this World Cup, until Labuschagne took 99 balls a few hours later.

At 203 for six in the 42nd over, with only Suryakumar Yadav and the tail left, Australia pounced. Mohammed Shami beat Starc, Jasprit Bumrah was trapped by Adam Zampa – the leg-spinner’s 23rd wicket of the tournament – and Suryakumar fluttered a pull from Hazlewood to give wicketkeeper Josh Inglis the last of his five catches.

When Kuldeep Yadav was bowled out in the final, India were all out for 240 – one less than both New Zealand and England scored on a similarly poor pitch in the 2019 final at Lord’s.

Australia had bowled beautifully, but India – with the exception of Sharma and Kohli – had shown surprisingly little intent. After the 10-over powerplay, they hit just four fours, an astonishing display of inaction from a team that has left a trail of destruction in recent weeks.

Finally, India has lost its chance of a third one-day World Cup. As for Australia, there wasn’t much yellow at Narendra Modi Stadium tonight, but what little there was shone brightly.