Nagpur: While the nation suffered heartbreak at the hands of their worst nightmare — Cricket Australia — bookies from the Second Capital of the State, on the other hand, seized this opportunity to recover from the unprecedented losses they suffered during the nail-biting finishing matches of this Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
With a 10-match winning streak, the Indian team was clearly the favorite of punters, relying on the home conditions. However, all hell broke loose as Travis Head played a match-winning inning, facing the mighty Indian bowling lineup.
At the start of the first innings, Team India was the favorite of bookies. However, as the match progressed, the prices started to fluctuate. Following the departure of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, dark clouds shrouded Indian cricket fans. Manning the boundaries, team Australia fielded as if their life depended on it, cutting short India’s chance of a great total.
Chasing a modest total of 240 on a tricky pitch, Indian pacers picked up quick wickets of David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Steven Smith. This not only brought momentum for Team India but also for punters relying on the Indian bowling lineup. However, braving the conditions, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stitched a match-winning partnership for the Aussies. Head perished when Australia was short of just 2 runs. Following that, Glenn Maxwell hit the winning run on the very next ball.
As India suffered defeat, Australia clinched their sixth ODI World Cup title. Their loss added more misery to the punters’ losses, while bookies gained mammoth profits from the match.