India (Commonwealth) _ For over six weeks, India had played the tournament’s finest cricket, but it was the familiar image of Australia celebrating with the trophy as fireworks erupted overhead that brought the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup to an end on Sunday.
Only five months after defeating India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval, the Australians defeated the same opponents again, this time at home, to win the game’s most prized knockout trophy. Australia had an incredible trip, starting with back-to-back defeats and ending with the 50-overs World Cup in its arms for the sixth time.
In addition to facing India, the tournament’s only unbeaten team, Australia faced the great bulk of the 93,000 anxious spectators that packed the huge Narendra Modi Stadium. Captain Pat Cummins made the rebellious choice to chase under lights, and he was rewarded when Travis Head hammered a match-winning 100 in front of a stunned sea of Indian supporters.
While the final match-up was not wholly anticipated, there were a few shocks along the way in a competition without defending champions West Indies, who failed to qualify for the first time in tournament history.
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England’s championship defense fizzled out after six defeats in their first seven games, sparking calls for a full revamp of the Jos Buttler-led squad, while fans feasted on Afghanistan’s giant-killing exploits. The Afghans, led by Jonathan Trott, stunned three past champions — England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — until Australia’s Glenn Maxwell brought them back down to earth with probably the finest ODI innings ever.
They departed with their heads held high, but the failure of other teams to get to the semifinals provoked predictable knee-jerk reactions throughout the subcontinent.
Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan’s all-formats captain, Shakib Al Hasan’s leadership was called into doubt in Bangladesh, and government meddling in the running of the Sri Lanka board resulted in the country’s ban.
Shakib had previously sparked controversy with his appeal, which resulted in Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka becoming the first player in international cricket to be “timed-out.” Mathews, who blamed his inability to take strike inside the two-minute limit on a broken chin strap, labeled Bangladesh “disgraceful” and chastised the umpires. He had a lot of help.
More than a million people attended the group matches, and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) recorded record viewership, despite mounting doubts about the 50-overs format’s future in a market dominated by T20 cricket.
Cummins, for one, had no concerns about the inaugural World Cup’s significance. “I think it’s the pinnacle of international cricket,” said Cummins, a member of Australia’s winning side in 2015. Every international team gathers. You only get one chance every four years. Even if you have a ten-year career, you may only have two opportunities.
This World Cup brings the entire cricket world to a halt. With the exception of the final, India’s cricket was nearly faultless, but their performance as tournament host was far from it. The schedule, which is generally publicized a year in advance, was revealed only 100 days before the event, with a second modification severely disturbing fans’ travel arrangements.
Despite organizers saying that tickets had sold out, there were lots of vacant seats in the early matches that did not include India. England captain Jos Buttler claimed the sandy outfield at Dharamsala was “not ideal” for World Cup matches, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cancelled practice sessions in New Delhi due to poisonous air.
The obnoxious behavior of Indian supporters toward Pakistan players during an Oct. 14 meeting in Ahmedabad was also unpleasant. The tournament’s commercial success, on the other hand, has given the ICC cause to be confident about the future of 50-overs cricket ahead of its conference in Ahmedabad this week.
“The news of the demise of ODI cricket has been grossly exaggerated,” stated Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya following the group stage, reiterating Mark Twain’s famous retort to allegations of his death.
