One-day format revived as Australia gatecrash India's World Cup

AHMEDABAD, India: India played the tournament's best cricket for nearly six weeks but it was the familiar sight of Australia celebrating with the trophy as fireworks exploded overhead when the 13th edition of the World Cup came to a close on Sunday (Nov 19).

Barely five months after beating India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval, the Australians outplayed the same opponents, this time in their own house, to claim the game's most coveted knockout trophy.

It was a remarkable journey for Australia, who began their campaign with back-to-back defeats yet still finished with the 50-overs World Cup in their arms for the sixth time.

In addition to taking on India, the tournament's only unbeaten team, in the final they were also up against the vast majority of the 93,000 noisy fans who thronged the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium.

Cummins took the bold decision to chase under the lights and was vindicated when Travis Head smashed a match-winning hundred in front of a silent sea of crestfallen Indian fans.

While the final match-up was not entirely unexpected, there were a few surprises along the way in a tournament taking place without twice champions West Indies, who failed to qualify for the first time in the tournament's history.

England's title defence evaporated after six defeats in their first seven matches, prompting demands for a complete overhaul of the Jos Buttler-led side, while fans feasted on Afghanistan's giant-killing exploits.

Coached by Jonathan Trott, the Afghans upstaged three former champions - England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - before Australia's Glenn Maxwell brought them back down to Earth with arguably the best-ever ODI knock.

They left with their heads held high, but other teams' failures to progress