Australia defeated hosts India by six wickets in Ahmedabad to win their sixth World Cup on Sunday, but how many of Australia’s victorious teams are our team of the tournament? And who deserves the discount on the other countries?
Here, Telegraph Sport picks its XI from the past six weeks:
Rohit Sharma (India, captain)
India is often accused of batting too conservatively in white-ball tournaments. Rohit’s selfless approach ensured that this time it would be different: by scoring quickly from the start, he showed the template he wanted his team to follow. In doing so, he allowed Virat Kohli to bat at his natural pace. Although he was dismissed five times in the 1940s, Rohit’s consistency was such that he still finished second behind Kohli among the tournament’s top scorers.
Travis Head (Australia)
Player of the match in both the semi-final and final, playing two masterful innings while staying true to his buccaneer style. Considering the quality of the attack and the loss of three early wickets, his century in Ahmedabad ranks alongside Clive Lloyd in 1975 and Aravinda de Silva in 1996 as the best innings in a World Cup final. Full vindication for Australia taking Head to the World Cup when he wasn’t fully fit.
After missing Australia’s first five matches, a blistering 59-ball century on his return against New Zealand showed Head is one of the most feared batsmen in the world – regardless of format. In June, he scored 163 against India, which also helped Australia win the World Test Championship. Off-spin was also crucial in the semi-finals.
Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)
The breakthrough star of the World Cup. The tournament started with it taking Kane Williamson’s injury to break into the first XI; it ended after three scintillating centuries, against England, Australia and Pakistan. At 23, his lush riding and lightness on his feet against spin marked Ravindra as New Zealand’s next star.
Virat Kohli (India)
No longer India’s captain, but still the country’s most inescapable cricketer. Kohli ensured he stayed that way with a tournament of astonishing consistency, reaching 50 nine times in eleven innings – and a century three – and averaging 95.6. The master of middle overs.
Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)
Until Travis Head in the final, no one had scored a century against India in the entire tournament; Mitchell made it two. In both the group match in Dharamshala and the semi-final in Mumbai, Mitchell showed his brilliant straight hitting, using his feet decisively against seam and spin.
Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa, wicketkeeper)
Brutal power-hitting, culminating in his demolition of England on a baking day in Mumbai: 109 from 67 balls, demonstrating the power that has marked Klaasen’s stunning two years in white-ball cricket. It’s a huge shame that his teammate Quinton de Kock is missing the ball after scoring four centuries, but this team reflects the positions in which the players have batted – rather than simply picking those who have scored the most runs, making it inevitable is that they bat in the highest order. As South Africa’s Test wicketkeeper, Klaasen can happily stay.
Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
The most extraordinary ODI innings of all time was undoubtedly enough to earn Maxwell’s inclusion in the team of the tournament. But beyond that astonishing 201 against Afghanistan, Maxwell consistently contributed, hitting a century against the Netherlands and scoring useful runs against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. His bowling, which loomed as a potential weak link, was almost as important: Maxwell bowled 68.3 overs – more than seven per game in his nine matches – and conceded a parsimonious 4.8 per over, regardless of his limited wicket-taking taking threat. Sparkling as always, also on the field.
Gerald Coetzee (South Africa)
The yorker from the wicket that Josh Inglis cast couldn’t quite lift South Africa to their first World Cup final. But it reinforced the impression that Coetzee, sharp, burly and genuine, will be the newest member of South Africa’s rich bowling lineage.
Adam Zampa (Australia)
Like his team, Zampa started inauspiciously, one for 133 from 18 overs after the defeats to India and South Africa. But Zampa’s four wickets against Sri Lanka gave the Australian tournament a new impetus. His threat ensured Australia maintained a constant threat in the middle overs, confirming England’s elimination with a masterful three for 21 in Ahmedabad as Zampa extended his excellent record against Jos Buttler.
Jasprit Bumrah (India)
He needed eight balls to take India’s first World Cup wicket, and his standards rarely wavered thereafter. Whether with a new or old ball, Bumrah was as threatening as ever: an unusual release point, ruthless accuracy and both seam and swing. For the opponents one could only say: good luck.
Mohammed Shami (India)
Shami was picked only in India’s fifth match and was superb thereafter, bowling with ruthless line and length, carving the ball both ways off the seam and harvesting wickets in the middle overs. The ultimate first-change bowler, though he opened when India were chasing wickets in the final. Twenty-four wickets at 10.7 each made Shami the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. It often seemed as if he was bowling on a different pitch, never more so than when he took seven for 57 in a semi-final when more than 700 runs were scored in one day.