The official trophy and medal ceremony after Australia’s Cricket World Cup triumph over India was briefly tainted by a distasteful moment that saw the umpires booed on stage.
Field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, plus TV umpire Joel Wilson and fourth umpire Chris Gaffney, were all welcomed to the stage by boos and jeers from what was left of the Narendra Modi Stadium crowd.
More than 120,000 people, the overwhelming majority covered in Indian blue, packed the biggest cricket stadium in the world to watch the host nation attempt to win their first World Cup since 2011.
But it wasn’t to be for the raging favourites, despite coming into the game with an undefeated record and 10-match win streak in the tournament, who were upstaged by freshly crowned six-time champions Australia.
And it seems the Indian fans wanted someone to take their disappointment out on, despite a dubious lbw decision on Steve Smith falling in their favour.
Social media was flooded with reaction from fans who weren’t impressed with the crowd’s reception.
In the game, Travis Head produced an innings for the ages to lead Australia to their sixth crown, beating India by six wickets in the final.
Chasing 241 for victory in Ahmedabad on Sunday (Monday AEDT), Head hit 137 to help lead Australia out of early trouble and to a comfortable win with seven overs to spare over the previously-undefeated hosts.
His runs came as part of a 192-run fourth-wicket stand with Marnus Labuschagne, who struck a controlled 58 off 110 by turning the strike over and letting Head star.
The pair’s composure was crucial, with Australia teetering on the brink of a collapse at 3-47 when Steve Smith failed to review a Jasprit Bumrah lbw from a ball that hit him outside off.
Together, Head and Labuschagne were able to wrestle back control of the match by regularly finding singles and never being tied down against the spinners.
Getting desperate, India brought back Bumrah and Mohammad Shami in the 24th and 28th overs.
Both times, Head responded by hitting the first deliveries of their spells to the rope and taking any tension out of the situation.
The left-hander brought up his hundred off 95 balls, accelerating as the innings went on and taking complete command of the match.
Regularly targeted with short balls by India’s bowlers, Head swatted them away at will to the legside boundary.
He also slog-swept both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yavav for sixes, hitting four in total as well as 15 fours.
