Pat Cummins said captaining Australia to World Cup title glory was the "pinnacle in cricket" after his side dashed the dreams of tournament hosts India with a six-wicket win in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The match was a personal triumph for Cummins, whose decision to field first was vindicated as India -- who had won all 10 of their previous matches at the tournament -- were held to a modest 240 all out.
India star batsman Virat Kohli ended the match having set a new record for most runs -- 765 -- at a single World Cup.
But when Cummins had him playing on for 54, to leave India 148-4, a crowd of over 92,000 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, named after the India Prime Minister, fell into stunned silence.
Before the match, Cummins had said there was no better feeling as an opposition player than quieting a partisan home crowd.
Having already dismissed the in-form Shreyas Iyer earlier in the innings, he continued to make good on those words with a brilliant and miserly return of 2-34 in 10 overs.
"That's huge, that's the pinnacle in cricket, winning a World Cup, especially here in India, and these are the moments you remember for the rest of your life," said Cummins.
"Think we saved our best for last. And a couple of big-match players stood up and, yeah, we're pretty chuffed."
Australia briefly wobbled at 47-3 in their reply but Travis Head's 137, and the opener's partnership of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne (58 not out), secured a record-extending sixth World Cup title for Australia with seven overs to spare.
"I was one of those blokes with the hearts fluttering upstairs, I was pacing [after 47 for 3]," Cummins said. "Marnus walked in and out and a cool head straightaway. And Travis just does what he does - really brave again, he takes the game on, and puts the pressure back on the bowlers. And to do it on the biggest stage shows a lot of character."
Cummins also heaped praise on the crowd in attendance for the final.
“It was awesome to play and the passion in India is unrivalled. You just got to go and win a World Cup. You can’t wait for it. It was a shift after two games. The openers were aggressive and it was a total buy-in from everyone. We will remember this year for a long, long time. This pips it all,” he concluded.