NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli appeared to be on his way to another ODI century in the World Cup final against Australia on Sunday, but Pat Cummins ended the hopes of the Indian icon and 130,000 plus fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad by sending Virat back soon after he completed a half-century.
Virat was batting on 54 off 62 balls and had added 67 runs with KL Rahul for the fourth wicket in the duo's effort to repair the Indian innings from a concerning 81/3. But Cummins had him play one onto his stumps, while trying to defend the dug-in delivery rising on his toes.
It led to a stun silence in the world's largest cricket stadium, which the Australian team "acknowledged".
“We took a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd (after Virat Kohli's wicket)," said Cummins after the final, which Australia won by six wickets to claim their sixth ODI World Cup trophy.
"It just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him (Kohli) to score another hundred like he normally does. That (wicket) was satisfying," Cummins added.
Interestingly, a day before the match, Cummins had mentioned about silencing the crowd.
"The crowd is obviously going to be very one-sided; but in sport, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that's the aim for us,” he had said ahead of the final.
Despite half-centuries by Kohli and Rahul (66), India could only put up 240 on the board after being asked to bat first by Australia skipper Cummins, who won the toss.
Australia didn't get off to the start they wanted and slipped to 47/3. But opener Travis Head added 192 runs with Marnus Labuschagne (58) and went on to score a match-winning century (137).
