Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles expressed his happiness
at being invited to host country India to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup final,
saying it was a privilege for him to be at the game and remarked that the “home
of cricket” now really is in India.
Deputy PM Marles and Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the ICC Cricket
World Cup final between India and Australia together at Ahmedabad’s Narendra
Modi Stadium on Sunday.
“It was an incredible privilege for me to be at the game… I thank India
and commend India for hosting an incredible tournament over the last six weeks.
It put cricket on display to the world… In a contemporary sense, the home of
cricket now really is in India,” said Marles in Delhi during the second
India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Monday.
Notably, Australia won its sixth cricket world cup played Narendra Modi
stadium by defeating home crowd India in a nerve-thrilling match.
“And I think for those of us who love cricket, the pilgrimage that we all
want to make now is to this country. And it was just the fulfilment of a
lifelong dream for me to be able to actually watch cricket being played here,
in India, and the shared love of this sport by both our countries, I think
embodies, the state of our relationship,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence
Minister Richard Marles, along with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong,
visited and laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Delhi.
The two Australian leaders are co-chairing the India-Australia 2+2
Ministerial dialogue with their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister
S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The second India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is being held in the
national capital today during which a wide range of strategic, defence and
security issues are expected to be discussed between the two countries, an
official statement said.
Moreover, the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a cornerstone of the
India-Australia relationship and an opportunity to progress in working together
to shape the type of region they want.
Coming to the match, Australia opted to bowl first and bundled out India
for 240 in 50 overs. Mitchell Starc (3/55) was the pick of the bowlers for
Australia.
In the chase of 241, India started off really well and had the Aussies
down at 47/3. Knocks from Travis Head (137 in 120 balls, with 15 fours and four
sixes) and Marnus Labuschagne (58 in 110 balls, with four boundaries) left the
Indian team without answers and guided them to a six-wicket win.
Mohammed Shami took one wicket while Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets as
well. Travis was given the ‘Player of the Match’ for his century.
ANI
