Ahmedabad: KL Rahul and Virat Kohli made gritty fifties but Australian bowlers produced a clinical show to bowl out India for a below-par 240 in the World Cup final here Sunday.
Sent in to bat on a slow and dry pitch, skipper Rohit Sharma once again provided India a flying start with a 31-ball 47 but Australia fought back, snapping three wickets to reduce the hosts to 81 for 3.
Kohli (54) and Rahul (66) then tried to resurrect the Indian innings, adding 67 runs before Pat Cummins removed the former. It was a struggle thereafter, as India failed to find the boundaries.
Suryakumar Yadav (18) also couldn’t make a mark at the back end.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc (3/55) picked three wickets, while Pat Cummins (2/34), Josh Hazlewood (2/60), Glenn Maxwell (1/35) and Adam Zampa (1/44) were the other wicket-takers.
Brief Scores:
India: 240 all out in 50 overs (KL Rahul 66, Virat Kohli 54; Mitchell Starc 3/55).
PTI