When a willow-wielding Marnus Labuschagne walked onto the field with the Australian score reading 47-3 at the fall of Steve Smith’s wicket in the sixth over, it would have felt like entering a war zone. India’s fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were breathing fire on a wicket that offered decent bounce and movement in the first 10 overs. The one lakh-plus crowd were vociferously cheering every ball. India had posted a below-par 240 all out, but the visitors still needed another 194 for victory. The only advantage was that they had another 250-odd deliveries to get them in. And that was the foundation of what turned out to be a match-winning 192-run fourth-wicket stand that helped Australia beat India by six wickets to clinch their sixth ODI World Cup title.

It all began with a bundle of nerves for Labuschagne though. “I was quite nervous when I was waiting to come out to bat,” he told reporters in the mixed zone at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night.