Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: A magnificent century by Travis Head helped Australia lift its sixth World Cup title, defeating hosts India by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat on Sunday.
Invited to bat first after losing the toss, India scored 240 runs, losing all wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Chasing 241 to claim the sixth World Cup title, Australia scored 241 runs, losing four wickets with 42 balls to spare.
Opener Rohit Sharma gave India a good start, scoring 47 off 31 balls, although he lost his opening partner Shubman Gill in the fifth over with 30 runs on the board. After Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer fell in consecutive overs, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul resurrected the Indian inning. Kohli scored 54 runs from 63 balls, while Rahul scored a fighting 66 from 107 balls. Other Indian batsmen fell cheaply. Six Indian batsmen failed to reach double digits.
Mitchell Starc took three wickets for Australia, while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins claimed two Indian wickets. Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa chipped in with a wicket each.
Chasing 241 to lift the sixth World Cup title, Australia lost opener David Warner for just seven runs and soon found themselves languishing at 47/3 in the seventh over after Steven Smith departed, scoring just four runs. However, opener Head and Marnus Labuschagne formed a match-winning partnership of 192 runs from 215 balls to script Australia’s win. Head scored 137 runs from 120 balls, which included 15 fours and four sixes. Labuschagne scored 58 runs from 110 balls.
Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets for India, while Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj contributed a wicket each.
Australia lost the first two games of the tournament but won seven in a row to enter the final. India, on the other hand, was undefeated throughout the tournament. Its only defeat came in the final.
Australia, which won its first World Cup in 1987, secured three consecutive World Cup titles in 1999, 2003, and 2007. It won its fourth World Cup title in 2015.
