Ahmedabad: Australia silenced a massive crowd of 130,000 by bowling out Team India for 2xx in the ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma batted with gay abandon, as he has done throughout the tournament, after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to field first.
Rohit smashed 47 off 31 balls, striking 4 fours and 3 sixes, before being brilliantly caught by Travis Head off Glenn Maxwell.
After 10 overs, India were galloping at an impressive 80/2.
Shreyas Iyer was out in the 11th over, and then Australia took complete control.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul steadied the innings with a 67-run partnership, but it came at a very slow pace – in 18 overs.
Kohli fell for 54 off 63 balls (4×4) to end the tournament with a staggering tally of 765 runs in 11 matches.
Rahul continued to occupy the crease, but failed to increase the tempo. The boundaries dried up totally, as is reflected in the statistic that only 5 boundaries were hit in the last 40 overs of the innings.
Rahul top-scored with 66, but it came in 107 balls and included only a single boundary.
The Australian bowlers adapted well to a sluggish pitch and varied their pace to choke the Indian batsmen. Mitchell Starc (3/55), Cummins (2/34) and Josh Hazlewood (2/60) stood out. The fielding was top-class too, with at least 15 runs being saved by boundary riders while Travis Head’s catch – running back and sideways – to dismiss Rohit was a turning point in the Indian innings.
