Resurgent Australia stand between unblemished India and Cricket WC glory

Agency :
India and Australia have faced off in some of the most engaging contests in recent times and a new chapter to their rivalry will be added when they contest 50-over cricket’s ultimate glory in the World Cup (WC) final today.

Favourites India comprehensively beat second-ranked Australia in their tournament opener and then strung together 10 wins in a row to storm into the final of their home World Cup with an unblemished record.

Five-time champions Australia, by contrast, began with two defeats before going on an eight-match winning streak.

“We want to take on the best. They’ve been the best in the tournament so far,” Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc said of India, who won the World Cup in 1983 and 2011. “It’s why we play the game.”

Captain Rohit Sharma and his team’s semi-final victory against New Zealand, considered their bogey side, has answered questions about India’s fragility in knockouts.

He has led by example, with unbridled aggression at the top, allowing others to play with more freedom.

Virat Kohli, the tournament’s leading scorer, has been the trusted anchor, while others have batted around the senior duo in India’s familiar template.

“The top-five-six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it really count,” Rohit said after the semi-final. “All in all, the batting was superb, that is the kind of template we want to bat with and move forward with.”

Their bowling, aided by the knowledge of home conditions, has been equally impressive.

Jasprit Bumrah has stifled batters both with the new ball and in the death overs while Mohammed Shami has emerged as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker despite warming the bench in India’s first four matches.

The left-arm duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have shared the spin duties with considerable success on their quest for a third 50-overs World Cup trophy.

Expectation in the cricket-mad country is particularly high since the last three editions of the tournament have been won by the host nation, while India will look to end a 10-year global title drought since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

“This is going to be an unbelievable game,” former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, told TV channel India Today.

“You are playing against the five-time champions, who know how to come back from almost impossible situations, who know how to play finals, how to win finals.

“It will be a real, real challenge for the Indian team but I do believe that Rohit Sharma’s men are up for it.”
Australia are banking on their ability to lift themselves in big moments to gatecrash the Indian party and earn a sixth World Cup title.

Captain Pat Cummins and his men made heavy weather of a small target in the Nov 16 semi-final against South Africa, but India would underestimate Australia at their own peril.

In Adam Zampa, they have a potent leg-spinner, with 22 wickets in the tournament, and a three-pronged pace attack finally firing on all cylinders after a stellar show against the Proteas.

Glenn Maxwell can bat any team out of contention, as he did with his outrageous double century against Afghanistan and 40-ball 100 against the Netherlands.

India’s coach Rahul Dravid was part of the squad who were blown away by Australia in the 2003 final.

The Australians also beat India in the final of the World Test Championship final earlier in 2023 and Cummins cannot wait to lead them to a second global title despite little support from the stands.

“It’s going to be packed, pretty one-sided I reckon, so you just have to embrace it,” he said, as he looked ahead to the two teams’ eighth meeting in one-day internationals (ODIs) in 2023. “It’s going to be a special final.”