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Australia land the Hexa

Memorable 13 of the 13th World Cup
STAR SPORTS DESK
The 13th edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup came to a close with Australia beating hosts India by six wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad yesterday. With the showpiece event in the rearview mirror, The Daily Star Sports looks at 13 moments that mesmerised the fans in the past 46 days.
Head turns up
Travis Head became only the fourth player to win the player-of-the-match award in the semifinal and final of a World Cup. It was his 120-ball 137, laced with 15 boundaries and four maximums, that helped the Aussies chase down India’s 241 with ease to win the final by six wickets and clinch their sixth World Cup title. In the semifinal against South Africa, Head took two crucial wickets and also scored 62 to guide Australia to victory.
Maxwell 201 not out
To pull Australia out from the cusp of defeat at 91 for seven, Glenn Maxwell played one of the best innings the format has ever witnessed in Mumbai. Withstanding cramps and the scoreboard pressure, Maxwell smashed a 128-ball 201 as he singlehandedly saw the Aussies chase down the 291-run target.
Mathews runs out of time
Performance-wise, Bangladesh do not have much to show for this World Cup. But the Tigers created history when skipper Shakib Al Hasan had Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews timed out, on account of the all-rounder taking more than the mandated two-minute timeframe to take guard, for the first time in international cricket in a pool fixture in Delhi.
Incredible Afghans
Coming into the World Cup with just a solitary win in the tournament’s history, the Afghans surprised many with the incredible run that saw them beat defending champions England, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan to finish sixth on the table.
Dutch stun Proteas
South Africa looked the team to beat in the initial stage of the tournament till they came across the Netherlands in Dharamshala. The Dutch, the only associate nation this World Cup, stunned the high-flying Proteas to win by 38 runs.
Zampa turns it around
Adam Zampa has been one of the major forces behind Australia lifting their sixth World Cup as the leggie finished with 23 wickets in 11 matches to match Muttiah Muralitharan’s (in 2007) record of most scalps by a spinner in a single edition of the tournament.
Ravindra stars
Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand has been the breakout star as the 24-year-old racked up 578 runs in 10 matches, including three hundreds and two fifties to finish as the fourth-highest run-getter.
The Shami factor
An injury to Hardik Pandya opened the doors for India’s Mohammed Shami, who sat out the first four matches only to take everyone by surprise to finish the tournament at the top of the wicket-takers list with 24 wickets in just seven matches.
Maxwell’s 40-ball ton
Before his freak 201 not out against Afghanistan, Glenn Maxwell wreaked havoc in a game against the Netherlands when he smashed a 40-ball century -- the fastest in World Cup history -- in Delhi.
Proteas’ record 428
South Africa explosively opened their World Cup 2023, piling up 428 for five – the highest-ever score by a team in World Cup history – against a hapless Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Pakistan leave their mark
Pakistan created history in Hyderabad when they chased down a 345-run target, thanks to tons from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, to script the highest successful chase in World Cups.
Lankans fold for 55
Sri Lanka were utterly humiliated when they capitulated for just 55 -- their lowest-ever total in a World Cup game -- by India in a group game in Mumbai. India crusied to 302-run victory -- the second largest victory in World Cups.