Following Sunday’s World Cup final, it was evident that the Australian players had experienced a significant turning point in their lives. A beaming Mitchell Starc remarked, “None for 120 against Sri Lanka seems a long time ago now, and being 0 and 2,” as his teammates gathered around the PA system in anticipation of the trophy presentation.
Pat Cummins, his captain, brought up the match as well, mentioning how Sri Lanka’s openers had once hammered 125 by the 22nd over against a side that had been destroyed by South Africa and India. Following those two losses, our coverage revealed that the road was running out. “Australia’s World Cup campaign is not yet at crisis point from a math perspective,”
David Warner, a fielder who typically plays inside the ring but has retreated to the boundary this campaign and is still in excellent shape despite getting close to 37 years old, provided that spark. He threw himself into the air, not caring how hard he landed as long as he held on to the ball, and burned around the boundary twice for the first three wickets to fall for Sri Lanka. Australia in the game with two catches and two wickets.
The second came off Adam Zampa, which was also a turning point for the leg-spinner, who had had difficulty up until that point. As soon as the game was over, he realized its importance. Naturally, we were aware that we had been a little flat during the first two games,
Thus, they are aware. Australia is aware that could have been the final blow, sending them to three defeats and possibly out of the competition. Rather, they bowled Sri Lanka out for 209, with Cummins leading by example both when he had the ball in the air and when he was chasing it. Even after suffering their third defeat—or even a fourth, as happened to New Zealand—they could have still qualified, but not with the momentum gained from victories one way or another.
Warner guided them through the remaining ones, first partnering with Mitchell Marsh and subsequently Travis Head. They eliminated Pakistan from the game before it even started, ensured that there would be no slip against the Dutch, and ravaged New Zealand during an early period of striking that was nearly unheard of in one-day cricket.
Next up, the bowlers performed their job against England, holding a score that was within striking distance at one point. With Cummins and Zampa through the middle, Starc struck first. With Cummins providing bat company, Glenn Maxwell’s solo opus saved a dangerous position against Afghanistan. Although Australia had already qualified by that point, Marsh handled Bangladesh by himself to complete the group stage.
Then it was back to the bowlers, with Starc taking early wickets once more to start the semi-final. Josh Hazlewood was always by his side, the engine of the attack during the campaign, bringing consistency to every outing no matter how hard the batting came at them. The one in South Africa was said to be the fiercest. It was meek, with Hazlewood and Starc taking wickets and scoring 10 runs in the first eight overs. But the South is hard.
They thus didn’t. bowling first and using a wet cloth on India’s scorching batting team, a side full of shot-makers who, once the fielding restrictions were lifted, found the fence four times in forty overs. That right there is the match, just like Warner’s catch in Lucknow, just like the opening spell in Kolkata.
Adding to his already ridiculous big-game resume, Travis Head reached the fence fifteen times and cleared it four more times. But this is the pinnacle for the entire Australian team, including the previous World Cup winners: the team against whom the odds were stacked the highest, where everything was set up for an India victory, and where a team coming off of a far less polished campaign chose to win it nonetheless.