On Wednesday, October 25, Australia defeated the Netherlands by a record-tying margin of 309 runs to win the World Cup in Delhi. Australia’s triumph was their third consecutive World Cup triumph in 2023. It was the biggest victory margin in World Cup history. After Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne hit fifty and Glenn Maxwell and David Warner made hundreds, the Netherlands were set a difficult target of 400. Naturally, the Dutch lost by a total of 309 runs and were never able to mount a meaningful challenge.
Like everything else in the competition thus far, the new ball under lights proved to be a challenging assignment for the batsmen, and the Netherlands lacked an answer for Australia’s quick attack or Adam Zampa’s talent. Even though Vikramjit Singh showed audacity in the first few overs by assisting with a couple of the boundaries, the Australians never let up until the opening stand was broken.
The heat of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc prevented the Dutch batters from making contact with the ball. The pacy hard length ultimately worked to Australia‘s advantage, as Zampa’s presence quickened the finish.
Another great place to bat, Arun Jaitley Stadium, woke the Netherlands with an unpleasant surprise when they saw the overpowering attack of Australian batsmen. Mitchell Marsh died much too soon, and Australia was enraged by Warner’s incredible century and his century stand with Smith. Despite Smith being the first to make contact, they both jumped immediately in and took charge. The Netherlands made a mistake by trying to begin with spin, as Warner quickly removed Aryan Dutt, setting the tone for Australia’s innings.
Labuschagne and Warner continued to play well, and Smith was gently dismissed to end his career as Australia searched for a massive total. However, after a period of excellent counterattacking, the Netherlands suffered a mini-collapse and would have hoped to block the winning blow at 290/6. Then Maxwell happened. The strong batsman, who had been having trouble lately, finally found his timing and gave it his all to make the fastest-ever World Cup century in 40 balls near the end. At this identical location in the first week of the tournament, Aiden Markram had accomplished the same feat—and he’d done it nine balls quicker.
For the first time in the competition, the Dutch bowlers were put under extreme pressure, and they were unable to cope. There was just one thing that mattered in the match after Australia reached 399: opportunity. The Netherlands had a chance to reply, but they were easily beaten by an Australian team that is beginning to gather steam.
Brief Scores:
 Australia 399/8 (Maxwell 106, Warner 104; van Beek 4-74) beat Netherlands 90 in 21 overs (Adam Zampa 4-8, Mitchell Marsh 2-19) by 309 runs
