World Cup 2023 final: Australia elect to field against India
Heavyweights India and Australia are set to lock horns in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final. The two sides have been sensational in the competition and would be raring to clinch the title. While India have been undefeated so far, Australia are on an eight-match winning streak. Australian captain Pat Cummins has won the toss and elected to field first.
Here are the two teams
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj. Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Adam Zampa, and Josh Hazlewood.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host this duel on November 19 (2:00pm IST). The pitch here is unusually balanced and assists both the batters and the bowlers. Owing to the anticipated dew factor, the toss-winning skipper is likely to bowl. Star Sports Network will telecast the match live while fans can live stream on the Disney+ Hotstar app.
India vs Australia: Head-to-head records
A total of 150 ODIs have been played between the two teams. Australia have a massive advantage with 83 wins in comparison to India's 57 victories. As many as 10 matches finished inconclusively. They have faced each other 13 times in the ODI World Cup, with Australia prevailing eight times and India managing five wins. India defeated them in the group stage (2023 WC).
Fourth WC final appearance for India
India had qualified for the ODI WC final for the fourth time, equaling England in this regard. Only Australia have qualified for the finals more times (8). The Indian team beat West Indies by 43 runs in the 1983 final to clinch their maiden WC. Their second final appearance came in 2003 as they lost to Australia by 125 runs.
Will India avenge the loss from 2003?
India are the only team to concede a 300-plus total in an ODI WC final match, 359/2 against Australia in 2003. The Men in Blue lost that contest by 125 runs. This is the biggest defeat in an ODI WC final in terms of runs. Meanwhile, India also own the highest successful chase in an ODI WC final, 275 versus Sri Lanka in 2011.
