ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final - It's a Wrap!
What an amazing tournament it was! A few ups and downs, some classic run chases, and some of the great and memorable moments that will always remain alive in every cricket fan's mind.
With all the adventures and exciting events, Australia became the World Cup winner for the 6th time in history. India was the strongest and undefeated team throughout the tournament, but in the end, all the outclassing, fielding, bowling, and batting didn't work out as they lost the final.
In this article, we will reveal the major highlights of the tournament and what makes this tournament one of the most memorable.
Let's get straight into it!
ICC 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup - Overview
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was the 13th edition of the ODI World Cup that began on 5th October 2023 and ended on 19th November 2023, with Australia taking the World Cup trophy home with a classic victory.
Initially, the tournament started with the ten national teams who had to qualify for the 2023 World Cup tournament. During the qualification process, India qualified as the host, while Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Netherlands, and South Africa qualified as the participants. Unfortunately, West Indies and Zimbabwe were knocked out during the qualifying rounds.
This was the first time India was solely hosting the World Cup tournament with 10 big stadiums in 10 different cities. The top 8th teams of the tournament qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025 - the next popular ICC tournament.
The World Cup 2023 - Semi-Finals
India, the tournament host, was the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after their amazing wins against South Africa and Sri Lanka. They secured 16 points after defeating 8 teams, which means no other team could have secured this many points in their remaining tournament matches.
The second team to qualify for the semis was South Africa. After defeating New Zealand and Pakistan in the group matches stage, the team qualified for the semis. Australia was the third to join South Africa, and India and New Zealand became the fourth to secure a place in the semis after defeating Sri Lanka.
The First Semi-final
The first semi-final was played against India and New Zealand on 15th November 2023 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. It was India's turn to bat first after winning the toss. The team scored 397 runs on the board, leaving a huge target of 398 for the New Zealand team.
With this many runs on the board, Indian bowlers easily put a lot of pressure on the New Zealand batting line-up, resulting in the team's collapse at only 327 runs. None of their batters scored well in the match, except Daryl Mitchell, who scored 134 runs; still, these were not enough for New Zealand’s victory.
The major highlight of the first semi-final was the classic innings of Virat Kohli. He scored his 50th century, leaving behind the world record of the great Sachin Tendulkar of 49 ODI centuries.
By the end, India won the match by 70 runs, qualifying for the World Cup 2023 final.
The Second Semi-final
The second Semi-final was held between Australia and South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. With everyone expecting a great fight from South Africa, Australia won it by 3 wickets.
South Africa won the toss, elected to bat first, and scored only 212 runs on the board. At this tournament stage, where every team scored 350+, scoring only 212 runs was hard to defend.
And the result was as expected! Australia chased this target in the 48th over, and Travis Head became the Man of the Match. This win against South Africa took Australia closer to the trophy, meaning they decided to face India in the World Cup 2023 Final.
The World Cup 2023 Final
The final was all set to happen at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. With all the crowd in blue chanting and cheering India, every Indian Cricket fan was expecting a massive victory from the Indian Cricket team.
Fielding first was the choice of Australia after winning the toss. According to the Australian captain, they have been batting first throughout the tournament, so they decided to field first, this time for a change.
And that worked for them. Australia managed to restrict the India batting lineup to only 240 runs. Head becomes the 3rd batsman after Ricky Ponting’s 140* (2003) and Gilchrist’s 149 (2007) to score a 100 in the World Cup final.
Australia won the World Cup for the sixth time, while India missed a wonderful opportunity, considering they were playing in their hometown in suitable conditions. This win marks this year a great one for Australia as they had previously defeated India in the World Test Championship in England.
Final Verdict
Indian fans might go to their homes with teary eyes, but Australian fans will stay up all night and celebrate the victory of their favorite team.
The cricket fans were excited and thrilled over the past month; they are looking forward to the next ICC World Cup, scheduled in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
However, every cricket match, tournament, and league match is equally exciting and thrilling for cricket lovers. So, till then, they are waiting for another nail-biting game between their two favorite cricket teams.
