India and Australia will meet in the Grand Finale of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat at 2:00 pm IST.
After a exciting Semi-Final match between South Africa and Australia, Pat Cummins & his side made it into the final of the tournament. The Invincible India entered the finals after defeating New Zealand in the 1st semi-final in a comfortable manner.
Date: 19th November, 2023 (Sunday)
Time: 2:00 pm (IST)
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney + Hotstar
Matches played: 150
India won: 57
Australia won: 83
Tied: 0
No Result: 10
India and Australia have played each other just four times in this competition. They met for the first time in the quarterfinal of the first edition in 1998. Australia lost the match by 44 runs. The sides have not met in this competition since 2009, when rain washed out their meeting in Centurion.
India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, and they defeated Australia in the semifinal of that tournament. Overall, India have played five T20 World Cup matches against Australia, winning three.
Their latest meeting was in the Super Ten stage in 2016. Virat Kohli led the 161-runand the game for India with five balls to spare.
India has been the most formidable side in this World Cup, winning all the games they have played so far. The Men in Blues will only make a change if an injury occurs. It is unlikely that they will be going for Ashwin in the Final after playing the whole campaign with almost the same team.
India have no choice but to stick with the three seamers that have produced results consistently since Pandya sustained the injury and got out from the third match of the tournament.
The best thing about the host is, that every player is on top of their form. Virat Kohli is the top run scorer of the tournament while Rohit Sharma is giving a deadly start in every match. Gill hasn't score a century in the Cricket World Cup 2023 yet but has scored runs consistently. Iyer and Rahul are also in their peak while Jadeja has given good endings whenever he has gotten the opportunity.
Shami is the highest wicket-taker not only that but he has just become the cheat code for India. Bumrah has the best economy while Kuldeep and Jadeja have contributed with the wickets as well whenever the team needed them. Siraj has leaked a lot of runs but also scalped some crucial wickets. India are in a perfect sort of position at this moment and are looking like the ultimate favourites in the Final.
Australia are likely to be unchanged, but they may select Marcus Stoinis if they decide to go with an extra allrounder and remove one of the batters. David Warner hasn't been consistent throughout the campaign but still has scored more than 500 runs for his side. Meanwhile, Travis Head is in brilliant form and scored runs consistently after his comeback from the injury. Marsh is also not in good form so might get replaced with Stoinis.
Glenn Maxwell is the x factor but the main concern has been with Smith and Labuschagne's form. They haven't contributed so much for the side throughout the campaign but they are the big match players and the side will surely go with them. Australia's bowling attack hasn't impressed the fans but Zampa has taken wickets consistently. The pacers bowled really well in the Semi-Final clash against South Africa and are expected to do the same in the Final as well.
The Narendra Modi Stadium wicket will help in spin bowling. However, in recent years, particularly during the IPL, the track has been quicker and has aided run-scoring. The batters have to be patient in the middle, as there will be plenty of runs that can be scored. Teams batting second have won three of the last five matches played at this ground. But it might be difficult to chase under the pressure of the finals so, the team that wins the toss is probably going to bat first.
The weather conditions in Ahmedabad are perfect for the final. A clear sunny sky is expected on the big day with the highest temperature of 32°C. There’s absolutely no chance of rain while the humidity is expected to rise as the game progresses into the evening.
India (IND): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia (AUS): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.
