Aussies’ sixer

Australians have done it again — for the sixth time! It was in 1987 that the Aussies were first crowned the ICC World Champions. They then clinched a hat-trick, lifting the coveted cup in 1999, 2003 and 2007. They won back the world title in 2015. And now again in 2023, in front of some hundred and thirty thousand spectators, an overwhelming majority of them sporting the blue Indian jersey — something that added to the unfriendly cricketing environment that the Australians were to confront, apart from the 11 in the ground that had decimated all their opponents on their way to the final fight.

Australia dominated the game right from the word go. It started off with winning the toss and then electing to field — to the surprise of both experts and commoners. As the game progressed it emerged that Pat Cummins, the Aussie skipper, had read the pitch better than all others, including Indian captain Rohti Sharma, for whom the loss of toss had made no difference as he said he too would have opted to bat first on winning the toss. And with three down for 81 in the 11^th over, India had been thrown on the back foot, and a score of 300 was clearly out of reach. The whole team was bundled, for the first time in the tournament, much cheaper — at 240. When bowling, the hosts did bring them back in the game, taking three Aussie wickets pretty early, but then Travis Head (137 off 120) left nothing for India to defend.

Winning their sixth Cup from a total of 13, Australians have proved their supremacy in the world cricket. This supremacy is an outcome of a highly competitive domestic cricket structure that is in place in Australia. The talent that comes through the Sheffield Shield and Marsh One Day Cup, apart from the Big Bash League, is indeed world class — and Australia’s very many successes in the game of cricket is a proof enough.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2023.

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