India hopes for a fairytale outcome against Australia in the World Cup final

In front of 130,000 spectators, Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten India will play five-time champion Australia in the World Cup final on Sunday in an attempt to snap a 10-year global title drought. India is looking for a third World Cup victory with their two previous ones from 1983 and 2011, the last of which occurred on home soil. They have won the competition ten times in a row. Notwithstanding its wealth in cricket, India hasn’t won a significant international championship since the 2013 Champions Trophy. As a result, the 1.4 billion-strong cricket-obsessed nation’s expectations have reached fever pitch.

But the Australian team, playing in their eighth World Cup final, will be up against the hosts after winning eight straight games.

Australia’s captain Pat Cummins stated on Saturday, “We’ve won before.”

“I think one of the pleasing things is I still don’t feel like we’ve played the complete game.”

‘Real challenge’

“This is going to be an unbelievable game,” former India captain and 1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar said on TV channel India Today.

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

“So I believe it will be a real, real challenge for the Indian team but I do believe that Rohit Sharma’s men are up for it.”

In addition to winning five World Cups, Australia won their first-ever Twenty20 championship in 2021 and defeated India handily in the World Test Championship final earlier this year.

Four weeks ago, India crushed Australia by six wickets in the Chennai group stage, bowling Cummins’ team out for 199.

Australia also lost to South Africa by 134 runs in pool play, but on Thursday they overcame the Proteas in a thrilling three-wicket semifinal match in Kolkata.

Red-hot Kohli

With a scorching Virat Kohli smashing a record 50th ODI century in Mumbai, India advanced to the final by crushing New Zealand by 70 runs.

With 711 runs, including three hundred, Kohli leads the tournament batting, surpassing fellow countryman Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 tons.

With 550 runs, Rohit is the next-best batsman in India. His leadership has garnered significant praise; former England captain Nasser Hussain referred to him as a “real hero”.

Mohammed Shami, who has taken 23 wickets in six games, including a 7-57 against the Kiwis on Wednesday, is the leading bowler in the tournament for India.

Australia has recovered from their opening two tournament losses against South Africa and India.

With a crippled Glenn Maxwell putting on a show for the ages with his unbeaten 201 not out against Afghanistan, they won seven straight league games, saving their team from 91-7 and advancing them to their victory target of 292.

With 22 wickets, leg-spinner Adam Zampa leads their bowling attack, while Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, two players from the 2015 World Cup winning team, are also among their top bowlers.

The new-ball pair’s performances in Kolkata reduced South Africa to 24-4, and they were instrumental in arranging a rematch of the 2003 World Cup final, in which Australia defeated India by 125 runs in Johannesburg.

The eight ODI between the two teams in 2023 will take place on Sunday.

Hazlewood told reporters, “We know them inside and out because we have played them a lot.”

Similar to them, but with us. They are a very good team that has dominated the competition the entire time. They have no true weaknesses as a team, so Sunday looks good.”

India defeated New Zealand 397–4 in the first semi-final thanks to an outstanding start from opener Rohit (47), and Shubman Gill (80 not out after retiring injured).

Hazlewood, though, would have rather focused on the opening moments of India’s pool chase against Australia, when the hosts were trailing by three runs and needed to win by a manageable 200 runs.

In response to being faced with the Indian top-order, Hazlewood stated, “Hopefully similar to last time we played them.”

“We removed them at a low cost. It would be perfect if we could make them 3-3, I believe.”

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