Travis Head on ODI World Cup win over India in Ahmedabad: ‘People definitely had us as underdogs’

Before playing Australia on the last night of the ODI World Cup at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, India had an undefeated record. The team captained by Rohit Sharma appeared unbeatable throughout the competition and was tipped to take home the prized trophy, but Australia triumphed in the summit match by a margin of six wickets.

After India’s loss, nearly a lakh spectators at the highly anticipated match expressed their disappointment. The fans were ecstatic when Australia managed to defend the 241-run goal and was once down to 47/3, but eventually everything turned to sadness. With his outstanding 137-run knock, Travis Head left India with no chance of a reply.

When asked about the big crowd that night in Ahmedabad on November 19, Head remarked that it didn’t phase the team. The 30-year-old claimed that because of India’s success, many people saw them as “underdogs,” but the visitors’ ability to remain composed allowed them to win the title. He gave his teammates credit as well for managing the pressure during the championship game.

“The Ahmedabad crowd was incredible. That was enormous. It was a huge fixture. But it’s also a wonderful feeling to know that it’s just another game and to know if you give it your all, especially in that setting where I believe a lot of people probably saw us as the underdogs, Head was cited by Sports Boom as saying.

In addition to trying to exert as much pressure as we could on the enemy, we also found that being calmly composed helped. Sure, our squad has performed admirably under pressure throughout the years, but it was fantastic to play in front of such a large audience and in such a big game,” he continued.

Also Read: ‘Don’t overthink or worry about things’- Travis Head shares his mentality for high-stakes games

The Indian team was severely harmed by Australia’s World Cup victory, as nearly every player sobbed following the match. But it’s said that some of the senior players’ suffering has lessened as a result of their recent victory in the T20 World Cup.