New Delhi: The most awaited finals of the ICC World Cup 2023, will be played between the hosts India and the five-time champions Australia on Sunday, November 19.
Australia will be featured in their eighth World Cup finals, while the Indian team will be taking the field in their fourth overall finals.
Both India and Australia will be taking the field with the momentum on their side, as they are on a 10 and 8-match winning streak in this World Cup.
GOOSEBUMPS … 🥳🥳🇮🇳
Wishing All the Best for Team India in the Ultimate match of cricket.#RohithSharma #INDvAUS #INDvsAUSfinal #WorldcupFinal #CWC2023Final #IndiaVsAustralia | Player of the Tournament | Siraj | Jay Shah | Rohit | Ashwin pic.twitter.com/Ud9UtGgh2V
— Shailendra Singh (@ShailendraS97) November 18, 2023
Indian team, however, will have a slight edge as they have all 11 of their players in form and 4 players in the top 5 bowlers and batsmen list.
With players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Md. Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja all in tremendous form. They are playing the finals in their home ground and will not have a better chance than this in upcoming times to end their decade-long hunt for an ICC trophy.
Today, let’s take a look at the three finals, in which the men in blues have featured so far.
1] 1983 World Cup Final vs West Indies
When India went to play the 1983 World Cup in England, nobody gave them any chance to even make it out of the group stages.
However, Kapil Dev led team India surprised everyone by making all the way to the finals, to play against the defending champions and the mightiest team at the time, i.e., the West Indies team.
The West Indian skipper Clive Lloyd won the toss and invited the Indian team to bat first.
The Caribbean bowlers led by Andy Roberts (3 wickets) proved their captain’s decision right by dismissing the whole Indian team on a small total of 183. Kris Srikkanth (38) was the top scorer for team India.
While everyone thought it would be a walk in the park for the West Indian team, Kapil Dev and his men had other plans.
Mohinder Amarnath (3 wickets) and Madan Lal (3 wickets) led the Indian bowling unit and did the unthinkable as they bowled out the whole Caribbean innings on just 140 to win the finals by 43 runs, winning their first World Cup and forever changing the course of Indian cricket.
2] 2003 World Cup Final vs Australia
India had to wait two long decades to reach their second World Cup final, but unlike the last time, Sourav Ganguly led the men in blue and was a strong candidate to win the finals. However, Ricky Ponting and company were not ready to give the title of the world champions as of yet.
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and invited the Aussies to bat first.
The Aussie batsmen soon made Sourav regret his decision as they finished the first innings with a strong total of 359 for 2, thanks to Ricky Ponting’s hammering 140 not-out innings.
The Indian team was never really in the match as they were bowled out on 234 runs, giving Australia an easy 125-run victory and their third World Cup.
3] 2011 World Cup Finals vs Sri Lanka
India didn’t have to wait as long as their last World Cup final gap of 20 years, as this time the MS Dhoni-led team India made their way into the finals after 8 years, where they were up against the fellow Asian Nation Sri Lankan Lions.
Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and decided to bat first.
Sri Lanka, with the help of Mahela Jayawardene’s 103 not-out masterclass, finished with a total of 274 for 6 in their full quota of 50 overs. Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh were the lead wicket takers for India with 2 wickets each.
India stumbled at the start of the chase, as Lasith Malinga removed both Sachin Tendulkar (18) and Virender Sehwag (0), inside 50 runs mark to break the backbone of the Indian top-order.
Gautam Gambhir (97) and Virat Kohli (35), then stitched a match stabilizing 83 runs partnership to take India back on track.
However, the final touch was given by the skipper MS Dhoni (91*) himself, and Ravi Shastri, in commentary, quoted, “Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lifted the World Cup after 28 years. The party starts in the dressing room, and it’s an Indian captain who’s been absolutely magnificent on the night of the final.”
India finished their 28-year wait for the World Cup trophy and won their second title, becoming the joint second-most-successful team in World Cup history.
