World Cup final: As Aus bowl first, Brad says his team will win, Anjum disagrees

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the final of the 50-over ICC World Cup 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Both teams have opted to go in with the same squads that played the semi-finals against New Zealand and South Africa, respectively.

India captain Rohit Sharma said the team needs to stay nice and calm during the game if they want to go over the line in today’s final.

"The biggest occasion in the cricketing event. We have to stay nice and calm. It's a dream come true to be captaining the team in the final. I know what lies in front of us. We need to play well and get the result. You got to make the right decisions on the field. That's something we've done consistently in the last 10 games. We are playing the same team," said Rohit at the toss.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins said dew will play a role in today's final against India. "We are gonna have a bowl first. Looks like a dry wicket. Dew is a factor. It gets better to bat on. Tough start to the tournament, haven't really put a foot wrong ever since. It's all set up perfectly. We've played these guys a lot," said Cummins.

India defeated Australia in the league stages when the two teams met last month in Chennai. Moreover, India has had an unbeaten run thus far, winning all 10 games en route to the final.

Meanwhile, former left-arm wrist spin bowler Brad Hogg believes talismanic India batter Virat Kohli will score big in the World Cup final, but added that Australia would go on to win the title.

“I think the Australian bowling line-up has got the goods to unsettle the Indian batting line-up. I think Virat Kohli is going to have a day out, he’s going to make another big score. He’s going to bat through this innings and try and stabilise this Indian batting order.

“The likes of Rohit Sharma and (Shubman) Gill coming upfront and trying to be aggressive against the likes of (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc with the new ball is going to be an interesting contest,” Hogg said on a JioCinema daily show.

Australia, who are on an eight-match unbeaten streak, are eyeing an unprecedented sixth World Cup crown and are now playing their eighth final. Australia also beat India in the World Test Championship final in June at The Oval in London. Sunday's meeting will be the eighth between India and Australia in ODIs this year.

“When you’ve got Starc bowling with a good height and good pace and swinging the ball into the right-handers, he can get Rohit Sharma and Gill early. But, if these two bat well and get India off to a good start, (Shreyas) Iyer comes up against (Adam) Zampa. This is another interesting contest that we are looking at.”

“But, I think Zampa may have a day out and get the big wicket of Iyer. So for me, Australia are going to win the game with Starc and Hazlewood getting on top of Rohit and Gill early and Zampa taking the wicket of Iyer. Australia are going to take another World Cup in the 50-over format,” added Hogg.

India met Australia in what was the tournament opener for both teams at Chennai on 8 October, where Cummins' side were bowled out for 199, before a stunning 165-run partnership off 215 balls between Rahul (97 not out) and Kohli (85) carried India to a memorable six-wicket win after being 2/3 in two overs.

Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra had a different take, saying India look strong to win the title. “I think India are going to win the final. If we compare the bowling line-ups of both teams then I feel India’s is better. If (Mohammed) Shami doesn’t get you, (Ravindra) Jadeja will. If (Jasprit) Bumrah does not get you, Kuldeep (Yadav) will.”

“When it comes to batting, it will be important for Mitchell Marsh and David Warner to help them get a good start in the powerplay. Steve Smith and Travis Head are contributors. Glenn Maxwell can give the match a different direction but only on his day. So head-to-head, India looks stronger.”

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd Siraj

Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood