Australia beat India to clinch men's Cricket World Cup

NEW DELHI

Australia on Sunday won the men's Cricket World Cup final, beating host India in the match played in Ahmedabad, the capital city of the western Indian state of Gujarat.

With this win, Australia extended their dominance in 50-over cricket, clinching their sixth World Cup trophy.

Chasing 241 runs, Travis Head hit a brilliant 137 runs, and Marnus Labuschagne's half-century helped Australia win by six wickets.

Australia had initially lost three wickets quickly under the score of 50, but a partnership between Head and Labuschagne steadied the ship for the visiting team.

In the afternoon, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to field against India at the buzzing 130,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, where both teams fielded the same 11 players who played in their respective semi-final matches.

As the Indian team began batting, captain Rohit Sharma led from the front and gave his team a flying start. However, Australia responded by taking quick wickets to halt the run flow, restricting India to a score of 240 on the Ahmedabad pitch.

India’s batting star Virat Kohli scored a vital half-century for the team.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at the stadium in the evening to watch the second innings of the match.

“All the best Team India!” Modi wrote on X before the match.

“140 crore (1.4 billion) Indians are cheering for you. May you shine bright, play well, and uphold the spirit of sportsmanship.”

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was also among the high dignitaries in the stadium to watch the match.

Later Modi wrote on X: "Congratulations to Australia on a magnificent World Cup victory! Theirs was a commendable performance through the tournament, culminating in a splendid triumph. Compliments to Travis Head for his remarkable game today."

Indians are known for their love of cricket, and the World Cup final was watched with bated breath by people all over the country.

The Indian Air Force's Surya Kiran aerobatics team performed and dazzled spectators with an air show prior to the match played under the auspices of the International Cricket Council.