Australians overcame not just an in-form, complete Indian team but also a huge crowd that was rooting for India, and made enough noise that could unnerve any opposition.
Both skipper Pat Cummins and batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 58 not out and shared a match-winning 192-run partnership with Player of the Match Travis Head, admitted to being nervous ahead of the final which Australia won by six wickets to lift their sixth Cricket World Cup title.
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“The noise just bogs you down, gets into the periphery, it was loud, a bit of pressure there,” said Labuschagne to media after the end of the final.
“The sound of silence in here is a great sound because that means you are on top and so, when Heady and I were batting, we were discussing that we have got in here now, everything is quiet, so let’s just keep playing. It was a matter of keeping engaged in every ball, in playing every ball as per the merit and just tried to keep the crowd out of it.”
Cummins admitted to being edgy in the morning but acknowledged enjoying the lack of noise due to Australia’s domination.
“I always like to say I am pretty relaxed but I was a little bit nervous this morning, you know just pacing around waiting for it to get started; just seeing the sea of blue in the hotel getting nearer the ground and seeing the sea of blue, walking, making its way to the ground, all the cars parked with their selfie cameras out, you kind of knew you were walking into something pretty special,” he told media.
“And then to walk out for the toss and just see 130,000 blue Indian shirts, it’s an experience you’ll never forget. The good thing was they weren’t too noisy for most of it.”
The Australians probably got inspired after Virat Kohli’s dismissal that silenced the crowd.
“We did take a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd. Yeah, it just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him (Kohli) to score another hundred and yeah that was satisfying,” said Cummins, who bowled Kohli when the Indian was looking good after a half-century.
Cummins also paid tribute to Travis Head, who turned the match one-sided with his 137 off 120 balls.
“He had a broken finger, a broken hand for the half of the tournament, but to keep him in the squad was a huge risk. I think we could have been made to look really silly if that didn’t pay off, but you got to take those risks to win a tournament,” said Cummins.
The 30-year-old Australia captain also acknowledged Head’s ability to take on the opposition.
“Travis (Head) epitomised everything I want out of a cricket team. He takes the game on, plays with a smile, puts the pressure right back on to the opposition.”
