Sports Desk: Hosts India and Australia will meet in the final of the 13th ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today. The curtain on the long 46-day cricket epic is coming down with the final of Rohit and Pat Cummins’ forces. India is unbeaten in the World Cup with 10 consecutive wins. On the other hand, Ajira, after losing the first two matches, won eight consecutive matches to reach the final.
Team India won their last World Cup at home in 2011. On the other hand, five-time champion Ajira won their first World Cup in 1987 on Indian soil. In Ahmedabad, today will be the battle of Seyane Seyane. Whether the Men in Blue will continue their streak of winning World Cups at home and lift their third title, or whether Ojira will create new history under the leadership of Pat Cummins, remains to be seen today. The match will start at 2.30 p.m. Bangladesh time.
This time, India beat Australia by six wickets in their first match in the league stage of the World Cup. Then India’s Jayarath ran at lightning speed. After winning 10 consecutive matches, Team India has reached the finals of the World Cup. After defeating New Zealand by 70 runs in the semis, India reached the World Cup final again in 2011. After India, Australia also lost to South Africa in their second match in the league. However, after the loss in the first two matches, Ajid did not look back.
Warner-Smiths has won eight consecutive matches and reached the finals. Before the World Cup, there was some concern about India’s batting. Even if Shubman Gill or Virat Kohli were in rhythm, captain Rohit Sharma or Lokesh Rahul were not getting runs. Apart from this, Suryakumar Yadav also could not repay the trust in the middle order. However, India’s batsmen are in great form to play the World Cup at home. In each of the 10 matches India has won, the first five batsmen have scored runs. Rohit is off to a good start. Next, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Lokesh Rahul are also getting runs.
Auji pacer Hazlewood has said that Australia is fully prepared to face the mighty India in the final. He said, ‘To be honest, India is playing very good cricket. They have good-quality pacers, spinners, and batsmen. They are performing well in every department. So far, India and Australia have faced each other in 13 matches in the World Cup. India won five against Australia’s eight wins. The two teams met for the first time at the 1983 World Cup. Both teams won one match each in two matches. The two teams met twice in the 1987 World Cup. India and Australia also won one match each. In the next four World Cups, India could not pull off a win against Ajid.
Australia beat India by one run in the 1992 World Cup. In the next match, India took revenge by winning by 16 runs. Australia won the 1993 tournament by 77 runs. After defeating India by 9 wickets in the group stage in 2003, Ajira won the title by defeating India by 125 runs in the final. In the 2011 World Cup in Mohali, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team defeated Australia by five wickets in the quarterfinals. In the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup, Australia again defeated India by 95 runs. However, India have won the last two matches, in the group stage of 2019 and the current season.
