Australia beat India by six wickets in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to claim their sixth World Cup title. While India came into the final as favourites, winning all their ten matches in a row, Australia, on the other hand, lost their first two matches before winning nine matches in a row including the final to go emerge as the World Champions.
The defeat was difficult to digest especially because India had dominated every other opposition on their way to the final including Australia who they beat in their very first game. However, at the final frontier they fell short. The result was a heartbreak not only for fans but also for the players with Mohammed Siraj seen crying inconsolably post Australia's victory.
The video of Siraj breaking down has gone viral on social media.
India were asked to bat first and posted 240 riding on aggressive start from captain Rohit Sharma followed by half-centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who were cautious after India lost the wickets of Rohit and Shreyas Iyer in quick succession. In Australia's run chase, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah took early wickets to reduce Australia to 47/3. However, a 192-run stand between Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne took the match completely away from India and into the bag of Australia.
Head scored a hundred, making 137 off 120, while Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 58 off 110, making sure he holds one end up while Head plays as the aggressor. The win means Australia beat India in a World Cup final for the second time after 2003. India's both defeats in World Cup finals have against the Men in Yellow with them managing to beat West Indies and Sri Lanka in 1983 and 2011 World Cup finals respectively.