Follow UsTravis Head put on a show in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19), smashing 137 off 120 deliveries to propel Australia to their sixth title.
The opener, who fractured his left hand in September, had to miss the first five games, but he made up for that in the six encounters he played. The left-hander was also the player of the match in the semi-final and was given the same reward for his efforts in the grand finale.
Chasing a target of 241, Australia were reduced to 47/3 but that’s when Head and Marnus Labuschagne (58) joined hands and put on a match-winning stand of 192 runs. With the dew settling in the second innings, Head said the surface got easier to bat.
“Never expected this, not in a million years, truly an exceptional day. A lot better than sitting on the couch at home. Really glad to contribute, the first twenty balls I played gave me a lot of confidence and I was able to carry through,” said Head.
“I was a little bit nervous but Marnus played exceptionally well and soaked all the pressure. The way Mitch Marsh came out and took the game on set the tone, we knew the wicket might get tough.
"It was a great decision to bowl first after winning the toss, it paid dividends. The wicket got better as the game went on. Nice to be a part of it and play a role in all of that.”
Head didn’t only contribute with the bat, but also took a superb catch to dismiss in-form Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. The Indian opener had raced to 47 off 31 deliveries before he mistimed one towards the cover-point region, where Head ran to his back and dived to complete the catch.
“He’s (Rohit Sharma) probably the unluckiest man in the world. Again, it's (fielding) something that I worked hard on. I couldn't imagine getting a hundred, couldn't probably imagine holding onto that one. Was great to hold on to that catch.”