On Sunday, Australia beat host nation India by six wickets to win a record-extending sixth men's Cricket World Cup. The match took place in Ahmedabad, in front of a passionate home crowd.
After dominating much of this tournament, including a run of 10 straight victories that raised the stakes in this cricket-crazed country that has been waiting 12 years for another one-day championship, India ultimately came up short.
While Travis Head's magnificent 137 off 120 balls powered Australia's run chase, the rest of the team coasted to a comfortable victory and another World Cup title.
The host nation had won the past three World Cups. Since India is now ranked first in the world, it was assumed that their dominance would continue, especially at the massive 132,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium.
India got out to a blazing start, matching the record for the most runs scored in the first powerplay in a men's World Cup final with 80. Captain Rohit Sharma in particular provided metaphorical and real pyrotechnics that blasted over the stadium when he struck a huge six into the bleachers.
However, Rohit was soon out, caught by Head with a spectacular diving effort after being bowled by Glenn Maxwell. The subsequent dismissal of Shreyas Iyer stunned the Indian audience and reset the game.
As the pressure mounted, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul lowered the run rate and worked methodically to construct India's innings. As soon as Rahul finally got a boundary after 16 overs, the pressure looked to be easing, but Kohli was bowled out for 54 when he chopped on to his stumps off of a delivery from Australia's skipper, Pat Cummins.
After Kohli's departure, India's batters were unable to create a significant partnership, in part because Cummins changed up his bowling attack constantly.
Although India posted a good total with to Rahul's tenacious 66 runs off 107 balls and the contributions of the tail, this was always going to be a tough one to defend.
Australia had gained the upper hand, and they took that energy into their opening innings of batting. David Warner and Head put on 15 runs in the opening over before Warner went out in the second over to Mohammed Shami, giving India a glimmer of hope.
Shortly after, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith for a score of 47-3, and the momentum swung to India. The audience was roaring with approval at every move and miss, rooting for India to win by another wicket and extend its lead.
When Head holed out with only two runs needed, Maxwell came in to hit the winning runs, which prompted loud celebrations from the Australians.