Ahmedabad: Australia’s players on Sunday described it as “unbelievable” and an “amazing feeling” while pacer Josh Hazlewood called it an achievement bigger than their triumph in 2015 after they defeated India in the final to win the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
Adjudged Player of the Match for his superb century that helped his country reach 241/4 in 43 overs chasing India’s 240 all out and lifting the crown for the sixth time in the history of ODI cricket, Travis Head described it as an “amazing day” as Australia came back from losing their first two games to win the title. Head scored 120-ball 137 at the summit clash.
”What an amazing day! Just thrilled to be a part of it. It’s a lot better than seeing the World Cup on the couch at home (on his injury). I was a little bit nervous but Marnus played exceptionally well and soaked all the pressure. I felt the way Mitch [Marsh] took the game on set the tone and that was the energy we wanted. It was a great decision to bowl first and the wicket got better as the game went on”, Head said.
”It paid dividends and nice to play a role. Again, it is something I work hard on and nice to hold on and contribute in front of a full house. Definitely third on the list (Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Travis Head – Player of the Match in World Cup finals) and nice to contribute”, he added.
Australia captain, Pat Cummins said that the team saved the best in the Final and he and his boys will remember this win for a long time.
”I think we saved our best for last. We have been batting first pretty much for whole tournament and we thought it is a good night to chase down the target. Didn’t really spin as much as we thought either. The boys were fantastic, we got an ageing side and still everyone is throwing themselves on the field. We thought 300 might have been tough but achievable on that wicket, really chuffed with 240. Magnificent. 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. I was pretty happy throughout the bowling innings. You look around and it is a special moment no matter whatever happened tonight. 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”, Cummins said.
