India and Australia will lock horns with each other in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, November 19. Both teams have been exceptional in the tournament and are set to get their hands on the silverware with so much at stake.
Tournament hosts overcame the Kiwi challenge in the first semifinal with a 70-run win after enjoying a dominant unbeaten run in the group stages. Rohit Sharma-led side beat Australia in their opening clash in the tournament by six wickets in Chennai and once again enter the upcoming encounter as favourites.
On the other hand, the five-time champions lost their opening two games in the tournament but made a sensational comeback with straight eight wins. They finished third in the points table and defeated South Africa in the semifinal by three wickets in Kolkata. They famously beat India in the final of 2003 and the semi-final clash int he 2015 but Pat Cummins' side has lost their last two World Cup encounters against India.
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Pitch Report
The surface at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium offers a balanced game in white-ball cricket. The average first innings score here is 237 runs in 32 ODIs and teams have failed to reach the 300-run mark in four matches played in this tournament here. With mixed results regardless of the toss, captains will be looking to defend the total at this venue on Sunday as batting second might be difficult.
"315 could be a defendable score as batting second will be difficult," Ahemadabad pitch curator told PTI on Friday.
Narendra Modi Stadium Records and Stats
Total ODI Matches: 32
Matches won batting first: 17
Matches won bowling first: 15
Average first innings score: 237
Average second innings score: 20
Highest total scored: 365/2 by South Africa vs India
Highest score chased: 325/5 by India vs West Indies
Lowest total recorded: 85/10 by Zimbabwe vs West Indies
Lowest total defended: 196/10 by West Indies vs India
India World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna
Australia World Cup squad: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Sean Abbott
