Australia crowned world champions
In his last ODI match, Australian captain Michael Clarke clinched a fifty to help his team to the title.
Australia defeated New Zealand by seven wickets to become world champions for a fifth time.
A record crowd of 93,013 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw power-packed Australia bowl out the Black Caps for 183 and then gallop to victory in the 34th over.
Clarke, who announced his retirement from the one-day format on the eve of the final, added 112 runs for the third wicket with his likely successor Steve Smith, who returned unbeaten on 56.
The three Aussie left-arm pacers-- Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner-- did the trick for their team, sharing a total of eight wickets between them.
New Zealand captain Brendon Mccullum had a disappointing final; he was bowled out by Starc without troubling the scorers.
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| Michael Clarke holds aloft the Cricket World Cup trophy as he celebrates with team mates. -REUTERS |
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| New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (R) is bowled by Australia's Mitchell Starc (L) for a duck during the the 2015 Cricket World Cup final in Melbourne. - AFP |
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| Australia's Mitchell Johnson, right, celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, left, during the Cricket World Cup final in Melbourne. -AP |
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| Australia's captain Michael Clarke celebrates reaching fifty runs during the Cricket World Cup final.- REUTERS |
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| Australia's Steven Smith and Shane Watson celebrate while New Zealand players look disappointed.- REUTERS |
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| Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, left, presents the player of the tournament Australia's Mitchell Starc with his trophy after the final. -AP |
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| James Faulkner (L) was awarded man of the match for taking three wickets. -AP |
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| Australian captain Michael Clarke holds aloft the trophy with his teammates as they celebrate their seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final. -AP |
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Comments (5) Closed
Mar 30, 2015 12:00am
A team miles ahead of others. They defeated Pakistan in Qfinal by 6 wickets, India in Sfinal by 95 runs and NZ by 7 wickets, and did that in less than 35 overs!!!! Congratulations to such Bulldozers.
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Mar 30, 2015 08:44am
Still I feel very disappointed, in the quarter final Aussies just got slipped away from the hands of Pakistan. Had they been a bit more careful it would have been Indo Pak semi....
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Mar 30, 2015 09:42am
Well played Australia ..... what a team. I think Cricket authorities should learn from their domestic setup and implement it. Its phenomenal how they come up with match winners all the time.
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Mar 30, 2015 12:42pm
hey Congratz'..... Aussies you ve dove well again but New Zealand did well performance throughout the tournament i would be more happy if NZ win this WC, Anyways Many Congratulations to Australia. Better luck Next time Pakistan.
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Mar 30, 2015 04:52pm
Aussies solid team. All match-winners in their own right. Home advantage. Pakistan and India could not halt them from going further. Well played champions.
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