India was not a factor to make it one of the greatest matches ever.
If India were in the finals, you most likely would have seen a crowd favorite team pulling out all the tricks and stops on a talented team. Then, as if it was unexpected, they would lift the trophy, calling themselves cricket world cup champions once again. The celebration, the champagne shower, the leaps-for-joy, would all make the news.
Instead, it was an England-New Zealand affair in the finals. The Kiwis were labeled as the underdogs ever since Dipak Patel opened for them in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Also, it wasn’t a high scoring match, where people expected a 300-run match; it was a battle of wits and endurance. While other sports enthusiasts were constantly switching between the Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen of the British Grand Prix and the intense exchanges between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, people were also tuning into cricket over the weekend to witness a first-time win for either team that would win.
Everything that happened - from the controversial overthrow to the excellent batting - helped cricket re-appear on the radar. It was a thrilling, exciting, anxious-filled game - and India or Australia wasn’t even part of it.
The ICC Cricket World Cup may be over, but other cricket tournaments are on its way. To find out more about the different cricket leagues, visit Betwala's page.
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