One-day cricket champions of champions

The Australian men’s cricket team’s sixth one-day World Cup final win before 130,000 mostly Indian spectators at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium didn’t just spoil the anticipated victory party for the home team favourite and its 1.4 billion fans. The triumph, after Pat Cummins’ team lost the first two group matches, then won the last six on the trot, confirms Australia’s ability to peak at the right time.

The hero was South Australia’s Travis Head for his match-winning century of 137 runs and his match-turning classic catch of India’s captain Rohit Sharma. Australia was superior in batting, bowling, fielding, and tactics.

India’s modern commercial dominance of one of the great games of the former British Empire – calculated by its powerhouse Premier League Twenty20 competition – is a testament to its economic and social development. Australia’s on-field triumph underscores the hold of cricket, along with swimming and tennis, in the nation’s grassroots summer culture.

The India-Australia rivalry now approaches the intensity of the traditional Ashes battle between Australia and England.