OZ and Even: Head scores 137 as Australia defeat India by six wickets in the final to win their 6th World Cup
Rohit Sharma, fielding in the circle, could have been the loneliest man in the world at that moment. He smiled wryly, but this was no more than hiding a broken heart from the rest of the world.
If he had been a child whose first birthday party had been interrupted by a power cut, Rohit could not have cut a more sorry figure.
This tournament has been by India for Indians. Overcoming all the obstacles placed before them, fans have made this a success, in stadia across the country, in living rooms with friends, on laptops with family, and alone on their smartphones.
The primary reason for this is the manner in which Rohit has brought this team together and lifted it to play at a level of such sustained intensity and excellence that they swept away all that came before them on the way to the final.
But then, Australia lay in wait.
They started the tournament badly, even managed to reach the bottom of the points table, but that ruthless streak in them bubbled up to the surface with an air of inevitability.
Pat Cummins had the strength of belief to bowl first on a slow pitch against this Indian team. Rohit did his thing, smacking 47 off 31, Virat Kohli followed up with 54 off 63 and KL Rahul bedded down for 67.
So slowly did the ball come off the surface and so difficult was shotmaking that Rahul managed just one boundary in the 107 balls he faced.
So stodgy were proceedings that India hit just two boundaries between the 11th and 40th overs — the (joint) fewest boundaries in that phase of a men’s World Cup innings since the time ball-by-ball data has been recorded. And that stands more than 750 innings.
Shreyas Iyer had a failure to back up recent big innings, Ravindra Jadeja looked edgy and India’s worst nightmare had
