Starc and Johnson help Australia lift the world cup for the 5th time - The cricket World Cup 2015 came to an end with both the host nations Australia and New Zealand playing it out against each other in the epic final in the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The crowd was in huge numbers more than 93 thousand of them supporting their favorite nation. It was all here where the 45 days long tournament was coming to an end. In this final match after winning the toss New Zealand team decided to bat first.
This was a good toss to win but Mitchell Starc made merry by uprooting the wicket of Brendan McCullum in the very first over. The dangerous McCullum was out for a duck in the important finals. Australians were pumped up and Maxwell struck next for the Australians to take the wicket of Martin Guptill. New Zealand was at 33/2 in the 12th over. Kane Williamson too failed as he lost his wicket after scoring 12 runs. The Kiwi was struggling in the finals at 39/2. Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott together partnered to reconstruct the innings. They were successful in taking their team to a score of 150 in 35 overs. The first over of the power play proved to be fruitful for Australians and Taylor lost his wicket after scoring 40 runs. This wicket opened all gates for the Australians as they bowled New Zealand out for 183 runs. Elliott scored 83 runs and was the top scorer. James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson was the top wicket taker taking 3 wickets each.
Australians faced an early blow as Aaron Finch lost his wicket on a duck. Steven Smith along with David Warner took charge of the innings. Warner scored 45 runs off 46 balls and put Australia in the driving seat. At a score of 63 Australia lost the wicket of Warner bringing in Michael Clarke. He along with Smith batted maturely and took the team to a score of 175 runs. This pair brought the team closer to victory but Clarke lost his wicket after scoring 74 runs. He departed with his head held high to retire from ODI cricket. Smith finished the proceedings by scoring 56 runs as Australia won the world cup for the 5th time. James Faulkner was named as the man of the match for his wonderful bowling.