Winning the World Cup is a greater feeling than watching it from the sofa: Head

When the World Cup began final month, there was uncertainty over Travis Head’s availability for the match. Out of motion for the primary couple of weeks because of a hand damage, it was a race in opposition to time for the Australian opener to return to the groove.

Back then, not many would have imagined Head to information the Aussies to their document sixth ODI World Cup title. But the 29-year-old hammered an aesthetic 137 in opposition to India – his second century of the match – on the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday to emerge because the hero.

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Chasing a low whole, Australia was reeling at 47 for 3 at one stage and wanted an alliance to return out of the woods, and that’s when Head solid a match-winning partnership with Marnus Labuschagne to make it an ‘amazing day’ for himself and the staff.

His efforts earned him the Player of the Match award – a feat beforehand held by Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. “It’s a lot better than seeing the World Cup on the couch at home (during injury). I was a little bit nervous, but Marnus played exceptionally well and soaked all the pressure,” Head advised the host broadcaster.

After shedding Steve Warner early on, Head began rebuilding with Mitchell Marsh earlier than Jasprit Bumrah despatched the latter packing. But in line with Head, Marsh did set the tone.

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“The way Mitch (Marsh) took the game and set the tone, that was the energy we wanted. It was a great decision to bowl first, and the wicket got better as the game went on. It paid dividends, and it was nice to play a role,” he mentioned.

This has been a 12 months to recollect for Head. While his catch of India captain Rohit Sharma turned out to be the game-changing second, he turned the seventh batter to smash 100 in a World Cup remaining. Earlier this 12 months, he ran away with the Test mace, scoring 163 at The Oval. “It feels nice to contribute to the team,” he added.