ODI World Cup 2023: Best XI of the tournament

Australia

Australia reigned supreme in the ODI World Cup 2023 final against India, as they registered a 6-wicket victory over the hosts to clinch their sixth title. It was a nicely fought encounter in which Australia had the better of India in every department.

Pat Cummins started well right off the bat, winning the toss and choosing to bowl first. The pitch was expected to be a slow one and though Rohit Sharma said, he would’ve batted first as well.

Even though the surface proved to be a difficult one. Despite that Team

India got off to a flying start with 80/2 in the first 10 overs with skipper Rohit Sharma scoring 47 runs in just 31 balls. But after his dismissal, a switch flipped happened as the pitch seemingly became quite hard to bat on.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hit fifties and tried to keep India near a formidable total. But the final big push never came and they managed just 240 runs.

In response, Australia found themselves in a bit of trouble at 47/3 after 7 overs. But Travis Head’s amazing century and resilient unbeaten fifty by Marnus Labuschagne was enough for Australia to win by 6 wickets and lift their sixth ODI World Cup title.

Here is the Best XI from the ODI World Cup 2023 Final:

1. Travis Head

Travis-Head. (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Travis Head was rightly chosen as the Player of the Final. He counter-attacked the Indian bowlers perfectly when Australia was in trouble at 47/3 inside the powerplay overs. With Marnus Labuschagne assuring him that he will not give away his wicket, Head went after the bowling.

He managed to score 137 runs with 15 fours and 4 sixes during his 120-ball stay. Head eventually got out when only 2 runs was needed for the win at 137 runs. He became the third Australian after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist to score a century in the Cricket World Cup final.

2. Rohit Sharma

It was a tearful ending for Rohit Sharma, who had dreamt of making India World Champions in front of the home crowd. He led from the front in all games, giving India flying starts as he took on the best bowlers of the opposition and breaking their morale.

In the final, itself, Rohit Sharma went after Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood and scored 47 in just 31 balls.

During his electrifying knock, Rohit Sharma smacked 4 boundaries and 3 sixes, respectively. Even in the 10th over, when he got out, Rohit had hit Maxwell for a six and a four and was dismissed trying to hit another maximum in a bit to solidify India’s run carnage further. Had he been a bit more patient and batted a bit sensibly, his big score could have helped India post even beyond 300.

3. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Star India batter Virat Kohli won the Player of the Tournament for his 765 runs, a record total by any batter in World Cup history. He hit 3 centuries and 6 fifties in the tournament. Commendably enough, Kohli even completed his 50 ODI tons in the semi-final against New Zealand to script a new history in the world of ODI cricket.

Even here in the grand ODI World Cup final, Virat Kohli was to anchor the Indian innings and around whom other batters had to do their job and push India near to 300-run mark. Kohli started well, hitting Starc for three fours in an over. But after Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer got out one after the other, Kohli and KL Rahul went into a shell. This defensive mindset proved to be dangerous for India, as Kohli chopped one from Pat Cummins onto his stumps and was out for 54 runs.

4. KL Rahul

KL Rahul had played all types of innings in this World Cup right from his 97* against Australia to his brilliant century against Netherlands and his finishing touch against New Zealand. Rahul was the wall that, along with Virat Kohli was supposed to push India to a very good total in the final.

However, once Rohit, Shreyas, and then Kohli got out inside 30 overs, KL Rahul shut shop and managed just 66 runs in 107 balls with a four. This slow batting and lack of boundaries in the last few overs cost India a good 40-50 runs. India hit only 4 fours after the first ten overs ended and it cost them dearly.  

5. Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne was a late addition to the Australia World Cup squad. Interestingly enough, he replaced injured Ashton Agar in the 15-member squad. Despite all the criticisms the talented batter had faced for his batting in recent times, his way of playing helped Australia in the final. During the ODI World Cup final, when the yellow brigade were stuttering at 47/3 in 7 overs, Travis Head needed someone to hold the fort at one end.

Labuschagne proved the perfect partner for the aggressor. He played 110 balls to score 58* with 4 boundariess to his name. As Head made 137 runs, adding 192 for the 4th wicket, Labuschagne ensured his partner could go after the bowling to release the pressure. 

6. Josh Inglis (wk)

Josh-Inglis-and-KL-Rahul. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Josh Inglis might have been a controversial choice to replace Alex Carey behind the stumps, but he proved his worth as the tournament went on. He was safe with the gloves to both pace and spin bowlers. Not just that, Inglis also contributed vital runs with the bat in crucial situations for Australia.

In the final, he took five catches behind the stumps including those of KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja. It is worthy to mention that whenever the Aussies needed a vital stand in the lower middle order, the stumper-batter pllayed the perfect partner for his top order batters. Hence. his contribution can’t be overlooked as Australia won their sixth World Cup title.

7. Glenn Maxwell

Travis-Head,-Glenn-Maxwell-and-Rohiit-Sharma. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Glenn Maxwell might not have gotten a chance to impress with the bat in the final, but he did his job with the ball instead. He bowled his 6 overs for 35 runs and got a vital and game-changing wicket of Rohit Sharma. Sharma was going ballistic in the powerplay and in greed of hitting one more six, got out.

Notably, Travis Head took a stunning catch of the match.

This wicket proved to be extremely vital as it killed any momentum India had built in their hopes of an above-par total on a difficult pitch. Maxwell then came with the bat to hit the winning runs to make Australia six-time World Champions. 

8. Pat Cummins (c)

Pat-Cummins. (Photo by Darrian Traynor-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Pat Cummins was astute as a leader for Australia in the whole World Cup, but he and the team management stepped up their game a lot in the final against India. Cummins picked two wickets, those of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, basically stopping any momentum India had built in the first 10 overs. Besides, his field placement was perfect.

His willy cricketing brain ensured that Australia were able to cut off major scoring areas of almost all the top Indian batters. He placed fielders perfectly to make Indian batters work hard for not only the boundaries but for single-doubles as well. Such was his captaincy, that India managed just 4 boundaries from overs 11-50. 

9. Mitchell Starc

Rohit-Sharma-and-Mitchell-Starc. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Mitchell Starc wasn’t in his element in the ODI World Cup 2023, but in the final, he showed why he was considered as one of the modern greats. He hurt India big when he dismissed Shubman Gill for just four runs in the powerplay itself. Then in the middle overs, he accounted for KL Rahul, who had set himself nicely with 66 runs off 107 balls. 

Eventually he finished off with the scalp of Mohammed Shami. Mitchell Starc bowled amazingly well for his bowling figures of 3/55 in 10 overs. Moreover, Starc showed that great players step up when it matters and nothing was bigger than the ICC World Cup 2023 final. 

10. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah had been Rohit Sharma’s go-to man throughout the World Cup. He ended with 20 scalps to his name in the tournament. But in the final, under pressure, even Bumrah crumbled a bit. He gave away 15 runs in the first over of India’s defence of 240 runs and set the tone for Australia to dominate.

However, the pacer made a grand comeback in the end, picking 2/43 in his nine overs with two maidens to boast for. His wickets were Mitchell Marsh for 15 runs and Steve Smith for 4 runs, reducing Australia to 47/3 in 7 overs. His performance lit up some hope for the Indian team and fans, but it was not to be in the end.

11. Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Adam Zampa equalled Muttiah Muralitharan’s record for most wickets in a World Cup edition with 23 scalps to his name. He was the only proper spinner Australia played with throughout the tournament and he shined with the ball. 

In the final, he made use of the slow wicket to his advantage.

During his bowling spell of ten overs, Zampa bowled out his 10 overs for 44 runs. In his quota of bowling, he scalped the wicket of Jasprit Bumrah. More importantly, he only went for one four in his entire spell as he and other slow bowlers, made life difficult for Men in Blue batters in the middle overs.