Australia have won the Cricket World Cup by six wickets, stunning hosts India and silencing the sell-out crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Travis Head was the star of the show as he became just the seventh player to score a century in a men's World Cup final, smashing a brilliant 137. Alongside the more watchful Marnus Labuschagne, Head fired Australia to a sixth World Cup triumph.
An electric start with the ball from Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah left Australia in trouble, with Pat Cummins' side 47-3 at one point. However, Head and Labuschagne put on a brilliant partnership worth 192, backing up an excellent team performance in the field which limited India to just 240.
Cummins made the bold decision to field after winning the toss and Australia barely put a foot wrong, bowling with great discipline and reigning in a dangerous Indian side that had not lost a game until today. India skipper Rohit Sharma got the home side off to a flier as he has done throughout the tournament, smashing three sixes and four fours in a quick-fire 47 off 31 balls.
However, a magnificent diving catch from Head sent Rohit on his way, prompting Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to dig in and consolidate when Shreyas Iyer's dismissal left them 81-3 in the 11th over. India struck just four boundaries outside of the powerplay as Australia managed to tie them down in the middle overs, before picking up wickets at the death.
Both Kohli and Rahul did reach their half-centuries and would have been looking to kick on, but any hopes of some late fireworks were shattered when Australia's seamers ruthlessly exploited some reverse swing. Captain Cummins made the key breakthrough when he removed star man Kohli for 54 in the 29th over, while Ravindra Jadeja fell to Josh Hazlewood for nine and Mitchell Starc got both Rahul and Shami caught behind.
Adam Zampa got his just rewards for a miserly spell that conceded only one boundary when he pinned Bumrah lbw, with India's innings coming to an end when Kuldeep Yadav was run out off the final ball. It was a magnificent display in the field from Cummins and co, who then needed to back it up with the bat.
However, given India's stellar bowling attack it was always going to be a difficult challenge, with Starc admitting at the halfway point the pitch was not easy to bat on. "We saw the swing go away pretty quickly so we tried different things to get the ball shifting," he explained.
"Patty was fantastic, Josh as well and there was a bit of reverse swing at the backend. We are now hoping the dew comes in and there is no reverse in the second innings! It is not an easy wicket to bat on. If the dew comes it might skid, on and we saw from Virat and Rohit that if you apply yourself there are runs to be scored. It's a World Cup final - how much do you want it?"
And Bumrah immediately gave Australia a scare as he found some plentiful swing to induce an edge from David Warner, but neither Kohli or Shubman Gill at first and second slip went for the catch. Warner was unable to make the most of his lifeline, though, as he fell to Shami for seven the very next over after an awful shot.
Shami and Bumrah continued to terrorise Australia's batters throughout the powerplay, with Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith both falling cheaply. Smith should have been given a reprieve with replays showing the ball had clearly struck him outside the line, but he inexplicably decided against going for a review.
Luckily for Australia it did not cost them, with Head and Labuschagne able to dig in and build a partnership safe in the knowledge that the required rate would not get away from them. Naturally, Head was the more aggressive of the two as he stuck 15 fours and four sixes on his way to 137 off 120 balls, while Labuschagne was much more watchful for his 110-ball 58.
It has been a remarkable fightback from Australia, who were being written off by some after losing their first two games, while Head has made a crucial impact after missing the first five games through injury as he became only the third player to score 50+ in both the semi-final and the final of a men's World Cup.