The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is just one game away from finding its worthy winners. After playing 47 matches between 10 teams, the final will be held between India and Australia on November 19, 2023, at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The anticipation for the final of ICC CWC 2023 is on par as one of the coldest rivals, India and Australia, are all set to lock horns in their pursuit of lifting the ultimate prize in front of almost 1,32,000 spectators.
As per early reports, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese are going to attend the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Earlier this year, in March 2023, during the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, the two Prime Ministers watched the game as they celebrated 75 years of friendship between the two nations. However, it will be a tense affair this time, and there will be some hard feelings as the World Cup trophy is at stake.
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In the first semi-final between India and New Zealand, the Men in Blue has beaten the Kiwis by 70 runs. From Rohit Sharma's explosive opening of 47 runs, Shubman Gill's 80 runs, Virat Kohli's record-breaking 117 runs, Shreyas Iyer's vital 105 runs to Mohammed Shami's 7 wickets haul, it was a dominant display by the Indian team.
In the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa, the Aussies once again proved why no one should discount them till the final ball. The Kangaroos all-out South Africa's team at just 212 runs and won the match by 3 wickets and 16 balls.
On November 19, 2023, when India and Australia will face each other in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, it will add some pages to their respective history books. It will be Australia's 8th final, and they'll be eager to add trophy number 6 to their illustrious cabinet.
Having won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015, the Aussies will try their best to retain their throne. On the other side, India can become only the second nation with the most World Cup trophies, 3, if they manage to beat the most successful side in World Cup history, Australia, which has five trophies to their name.
The venue for the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be the world's largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The finalists, India and Australia, will start their ultimate clash for the winners' trophy at 2:00 PM IST. The final will be telecast on a series of Star Sports network channels. Some notable channels are Star Sports 1, 2, 3, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu and Star Sports 1 Kannada.
Regarding online live streaming, Disney Plus Hotstar is the one-stop destination to watch the final, as it will be streamed for free, and the viewers can access it via their smartphones or laptops. For live score updates of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final between Australia and India, viewers can visit several websites like NDTV Sports, Zee News, Sportstar, The Indian Express, and many others.
All the impressive innings and thunderous bowling displays from India and Australia are in the past, as form doesn't matter when it comes to the final. Both teams are favourites to lift the trophy. Although some will argue that India has a slight edge coming into this one, but it can be lethal to term Australia as 'underdogs' in the final of a cricket World Cup. There would be no big surprises when discussing the possible playing XI for both teams.
India's possible playing 11: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia's possible playing 11: Pat Cummins (captain), Josh Inglis(wicket-keeper), Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Glenn Maxwell.
India vs Australia's Dream11 Fantasy team: Lokesh Rahul (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), David Warner, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Mohammed Shami (captain), Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah.
On March 23, 2003, India and Australia were up against each other in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, which was held at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa. India's then-captain, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Australians made 359 runs in 50 overs for a loss of just 2 wickets.
The Aussies' captain, Ricky Ponting, single-handedly destroyed India's bowling attack as he scored 140 runs and remained not out. It was a huge challenge for India's batting line-up as Australia had bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, and others. The Men in Blue suffered a major blow when Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed at just 4 runs.
However, Virender Sehwag gave some momentum to India, but he also got run out at 82. Rahul Dravid was India's last hope, but he was also dismissed at 47 by Andy Bichel. The Indian team was bowled out for 234 after 39.4 overs as Australia lifted their third World Cup trophy.
Australia is hands-down the most successful team in cricket history. From winning five ICC World Cups (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015) to producing some of the greatest cricketers ever to play the game, the Aussies have been almost every team's biggest nightmare for some time now. Another major skill that almost every Australian side has mastered is the ability to bully their opponents.
Back in the '90s, bullying was one of their most lethal weapons, as they used to play a lot of mental games. However, in recent years, India has been the only team in world cricket that has given a strong reply to Australia's bullying antics, and a lot of its credit goes to the strong mentality of cricketers like Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and many more.
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During the 2011-12 Test series, Virat Kohli showed his middle finger to the Australian crowd as they passed a series of comments on Indian bowlers who were struggling to contain Michael Clarke. Another incident that has defined India and Australia's historic rivalry is the Monkeygate controversy. During a Test match in 2008, India's legendary spinner, Harbhajan Singh and Australia's Andrew Symonds got into a heated argument.
While it was quite normal to see a heated situation in this fixture, the incident broke headlines when it was reported that Harbhajan reportedly racially abused Symonds. When the investigation was held, and Sachin Tendulkar was asked about the Monkeygate controversy, Sachin stated that he heard Harbhajan abusing Symonds in Hindi but also clarified that the bowler didn't racially abuse the Australian.
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If we go by the statistics, India is hands-down the favourites to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy. The Indian team has been explosive and lethal in the tournament so far and is now one win away from registering India's name in the history books. In the 2003 World Cup, when Australia lifted the trophy, Australia had won all of their 10 matches, and India had won 8 before their final.
This time around, India has won 10 matches, and Australia has 8 wins to their name before their meet-up in the final. It was Australia's third World Cup title, and if India beats them on Sunday (November 19, 2023), it will also be India's much-awaited third World Cup title. While all the dots are signalling towards an Indian win, the ghosts of the 2003 World Cup are still sitting around the corner, waiting for their moment to haunt the Indians. Well, it's a massive chance for team India to engrave their status as one of the greatest cricketing sides ever, that too, by defeating the Aussies.
What are your thoughts on India and Australia's iconic rivalry? Share your thoughts with us.
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