The last encounter before the final encounter has done successfully. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is almost wrapped up. Two semifinal has ended and two finalists came out of those fixtures. The whole tournament created a lot of memories, heartbreaking moments, and also moments to cherish. On November 16, South Africa and Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Australia ended that on a winning note. The unwanted record of South Africa of not featuring in any finals of the World Cup has been continued. After a thrilling clash, Australian opener Travis Head has been named the Player of the Match for his exceptional contribution while batting.
Travis Head’s excellence:
Australia created the magic again. After beating South Africa by three wickets, they confirmed the final ticket. With that, Australia will make their appearance in the World Cup for the eighth time. The Australian team is the most successful in the World Cup. They won the World Cup title five times in the past. The last time they became world champions was in 2015.
This was an exciting match. While chasing a short target of 213 runs, Australia struggled in the second innings. They lost a few wickets pretty early. But the Aussie opener Travis Head gave strength to the Aussie innings. He played a responsible innings of 62 runs in 48 balls. The inning was contained with 9 boundaries and 2 over-boundaries with a strike rate of 129.17. He batted till the 15th over and set the base of Australia’s innings. Depending on this inning, Australia chased down the target.
That was not the end. Head showed his excellence even in the bowling. He played an exceptional spell in the first innings. He picked up 2 wickets in 21 runs in 5 overs. The first wicket for Head was Klaasen. He picked Klaasen on 47 runs. As his second wicket, he picked up Marko Jansen on a duck. Those two big wickets helped Australia to dominate the opponent.
Head’s Words:
Travis Head was awarded the Player of the Match. Because of his amazing contribution, he won that title in the knockout stage of the World Cup 2023. In the post-match presentation, Travis Head talked about the innings. He said, “ Hard to unpack all of that. Tense finish and, an amazing game. Didn’t move from the seat for the last part. We knew how it was going to play, we had three or four days here. We haven’t seen such spin, we knew we had to battle. I thought I wasn’t going to be here (after the hand injury), but I am happy to contribute for Australia, nice to be here. Straight as they came. He (Klaasen) smacked me, was under the pump, but it was nice to get his wicket. I was prepared to bowl a few overs, always keen to contribute with the ball. We have had that positive approach to keep the pace rolling.”
He added, “ Disappointed for the way I got out, that (vs. Maharaj) was a match-up against a left-arm spinner, but wasn’t to be. It’s an unbelievable attack, their bowlers look sharp and they (India) have been one of the best teams in the competitions, never dreamed of playing a World Cup final against them.”
On November 19, the whole world will be excited to witness the biggest cricketing clash. India and Australia will be facing each other in the final fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India is in a great form. Being unbeaten, they qualified for the final. On the other hand, Australia will fight hard to claim their 6th title.
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