Australia opener Travis Head has joined an elite list of players with a terrific century in the World Cup final which blew away India at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Chasing a 241-run target, Head played sensibly on a tricky batting surface to play one of the most important knocks in his career. He scored 137 runs off 120 balls and was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj before putting Australia on the verge of their sixth World Cup title. He was the standout batter in the summit clash as Australia won the sixth World Cup title.
The southpaw has been in terrific form this year as Australia also backed him when he fractured his arm ahead of the World Cup. The opening batter missed the initial stage of the tournament and instantly made an impact on his return with a ton against New Zealand in the league stage match at Dharamsala.
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Head joined the elite list of players who have scored a century in the World Cup final. The southpaw became the eighth player on the list and the third Australian.
World Cup Final Centurions
- 1975 World Cup: Clive Lloyd 102 vs Australia
- 1979 World Cup: Viv Richards 138* vs England
- 1996 World Cup: Aravinda de Silva 107* vs Australia
- 2003 World Cup: Ricky Ponting 140* vs India
- 2007 World Cup: Adam Gilchrist 149 vs Sri Lanka
- 2011 World Cup: Mahela Jayawardene 103* vs India
- 2023 World Cup: Travis Head 137 vs India
He also became the eighth player to register 50-plus score in both semis and final in a single World Cup edition. Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli also entered the list with a 54-run knock
50+ scores in both semis & final in a World Cup edition
- Mike Brearley (1979)
- David Boon (1987)
- Javed Miandad (1992)
- Aravinda de Silva (1996)
- Grant Elliot (2015)
- Steven Smith (2015)
- Virat Kohli (2023)
- Travis Head (2023)
Meanwhile, defending the 241-run target, Jasprit Bumrah claimed the crucial wickets of Micthell Marsh and Steve Smith. While Mohammed Shami got the better of David Warner for 7 which was the first wicket of the innings.
Head smashed 15 fours and four sixes during his match-winning knock. The southpaw shared a 192-run stand for the fourth wicket alongside Marnus Labuschagne (58*) to revive Australia’s chase after early blows.
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