'It's Finally Time to Retire...': Australia Batting Star's Announcement Has 2023 ODI World Cup Connection

Australia batting star Marnus Labuschagne has retired the bat with which he struck a half-century in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against India last year.

Sharing a couple of pictures of the worn-out bat on his social media account on X, Labuschagne wrote it’s “finally time to retire the world cup final bat”.

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Labuschagne scored an unbeaten 58 off 110 as Australia chased down a target of 241 in 43 overs for a six-wicket win in front of a packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year.

“Think it’s finally time to retire the World Cup final bat,” the 30-year-old wrote.

India made an unbeaten run to the final of the competition including a win over Australia in their tournament opener in Chennai.

The Rohit Sharma-led side was in top form with their batters firing on all cylinders and the bowlers bossing over opponents. However, in the final, a gritty Australian team produced a fine effort across departments to first limit their hosts to a below-par total of 240-all out in 50 overs with KL Rahul (66) and Virat Kohli (54) hitting fifties.

In reply, despite losing opener David Warner cheaply, Australia took control of the chase thanks to a counterattacking century from Travis Head who belted 137 off 120 with the help of 15 fours and four sixes to guide his team to a famous win.

India thus finished runners-up for the second time in their ODI World Cup history – both the times losing to Australia.

It was the second time in the space of a few months last year that India came close to winning an ICC title. In June 2023, they took on Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship but finished second-best.

Earlier this year though, India finally ended their 11-year wait for a global title when they won the 2024 T20 World Cup beating South Africa in a pulsating final.