Cricket has an odd way of imparting life lessons. Occasionally, the best team does not come out on top. Sometimes, emotions don’t matter. The 2023 World Cup Final scorecard is a reminder of one such encounter—wherein a cool head prevailed over noise and patience shunned expectation.
It was not just any other final when the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Final was held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 19 November. It was India’s greatest opportunity in 12 years and Australia’s home. By the close of play, the story on the scoreboard was unambiguous: Australia won by six wickets and was the champion of the world for a record sixth time.
Having followed cricket from close quarters for more than 15 years, I covered matches ball by ball, and one thing became evident to me: this final was not determined so much by talent but by decision-making under pressure.
Match Snapshot – ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Final
| Match | India vs Australia – Final |
|---|---|
| Tournament | ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 |
| Date | Sunday, 19 November 2023 |
| Time | 2:00 PM Local |
| Venue | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| Toss | Australia won and chose to bowl |
| Result | Australia won by 6 wickets |
| Player of the Match | Travis Head |
If you only looked at the 2023 World Cup Final scorecard, you’d escape with a one-sided chase, but things had slowly transpired over 100 overs.
Pitch Report & Conditions (Cricbuzz Insight)
Cricbuzz pitch observations suggested it was a dry surface with a two-paced bounce. In the afternoon, if a batter trusted the pitch, he could bat with ease. The pitch slowed under lights, making timing tricky.
There was no heavy dew, so bowlers who hit the right length got some return. Australia worked it out early—India, a little too late.
India Batting – 240 All Out (50 Overs)
India posted 240 runs, a total that looked competitive at 10 overs but below par by the end.
India Batting Scorecard
| Rohit Sharma (c) | c Head b Maxwell | 47 | 31 | 4 | 3 |
| Shubman Gill | c Zampa b Starc | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Virat Kohli | b Cummins | 54 | 63 | 4 | 0 |
| Shreyas Iyer | c Inglis b Cummins | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| KL Rahul (wk) | c Inglis b Starc | 66 | 107 | 1 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | c Inglis b Hazlewood | 9 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | c Inglis b Hazlewood | 18 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Mohammed Shami | c Inglis b Starc | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | lbw b Zampa | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | run out | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | not out | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Extras | 12 | ||||
| Total | 240 all out | 50 overs |
India Innings: What Went Wrong (Expert View)
For a long-term watcher, India’s innings had three distinct phases:
Opening salvo (Overs 1–10): Rohit Sharma set the tone. India scored freely.
Middle-over slowdown (Overs 11–30): This is where the match shifted. As per Cricbuzz statistics, the Indian team could just about put together three runs an over.
No final surge: While India did have wickets in hand before, they still couldn’t muscle the ball over after the 40th over.
KL Rahul’s 66 was technically precise but at a pace ill-suited for a World Cup final. On this pitch, 270 was a better safe total. The scoreboard of the 2023 World Cup Final speaks volumes of this disparity.
Australia Bowling—Discipline Over Drama
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 10 | 55 | 3 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 10 | 60 | 2 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | 10 | 34 | 2 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 6 | 35 | 1 |
| Adam Zampa | 10 | 44 | 1 |
Pat Cummins’ captaincy was textbook. He slowed the game down when India needed momentum—a typically Australian finals tactic that has often been mentioned by Cricbuzz commentators.
Australia Chase – 241/4 in 43 Overs
Australia never chased runs; they chased time.
Australia Batting Scorecard
| David Warner | c Kohli b Shami | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Travis Head | c Gill b Siraj | 137 | 120 | 15 | 4 |
| Mitchell Marsh | c Rahul b Bumrah | 15 | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| Steven Smith | lbw b Bumrah | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | not out | 58 | 110 | 4 | 0 |
| Glenn Maxwell | not out | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | 18 | ||||
| Total | 241/4 | 43 overs |
Travis Head’s Innings—One of the Best in Finals History
Cricbuzz had it right when it called Travis Head’s 137 an innings based on “clarity of thought.” No rash shots, no panic. Just percentage cricket.
His 192-run stand with Labuschagne had suffocated the contest silently. The 2023 World Cup Final scorecard reads Australia lost just one wicket post the powerplay—something that is rare in a high-pressure final.
India Bowling Performance
| Bowler | Overs | Runs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 9 | 43 | 2 |
| Mohammed Shami | 7 | 47 | 1 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 10 | 43 | 0 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 10 | 56 | 0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 7 | 45 | 1 |
India bowled well in bursts, but pressure never had a chance to build with no early breakthroughs.
Read More: 2011 World Cup Final Scorecard / Pakistan National Cricket Team vs India National Cricket Team Timeline / Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians Timeline
Final Thought from a 15+ Year Cricket Writer
I’ve seen a lot of finals—some loud, most dramatic. This was a quiet, clinical one. Skim the 2023 World Cup Final scorecard, and it won’t be known for the narrow passage of plays but for how Australia dictated every one.
Big matches don’t reward hope. They reward habits. Australia had those habits. India, on that night, didn’t.
It is the truth the scorecard tells—devoid of emotion.
