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Australia Beats India to Win Cricket World Cup for Sixth Time


Australia players celebrate after winning the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final match against India in Ahmedabad, India, Nov. 19, 2023.
Australia players celebrate after winning the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final match against India in Ahmedabad, India, Nov. 19, 2023.

Australia won the Cricket World Cup for a record-extending sixth time Sunday, ending India's dominant run in its home tournament with a six-wicket victory in a low-scoring final on the back of Travis Head's 137.

A heavily pro-Indian crowd inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium was silenced as Head combined with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out) in a 192-run partnership to chase down the target of 241.

Australia was wobbling on 47-3 after seven overs but Head and Labuschagne dug in to help their country regain its status as the king of one-day international cricket, adding to its 50-over world titles in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.

Head was dismissed off what proved to be the next-to-last ball of the match, caught in the deep while attempting to hit a title-clinching boundary. In came Glenn Maxwell and he ran two off his first ball, securing a victory that prompted fireworks above the world's largest cricket venue.

Indian players react after they lost to Australia by 6 wickets during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final match in Ahmedabad, Nov. 19, 2023.
Indian players react after they lost to Australia by 6 wickets during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final match in Ahmedabad, Nov. 19, 2023.

The Indians won all 10 of their matches before the final and were seeking a third trophy in their fourth appearance in a title match that brought a country of 1.4 billion people to a virtual standstill. They were outplayed in every department by Australia, though, restricted to 240 all out on a slow pitch after losing the toss with only Virat Kohli (54) and Lokesh Rahul (66) making half-centuries.

Head became only the fifth player to score a century in a men's World Cup final — and third Australian after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist — and delivered a significant moment in India's innings when taking a diving catch running back from cover to remove captain Rohit Sharma (47).

Australia finished the tournament with a run of nine straight wins, after starting with back-to-back defeats to India and South Africa.

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