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We have the impression that we are in the cyclone’s
eye. This World Cup has become, during the past three weeks, an intense swirl
of compelling stories. The tournament featured some incredible moments: Virat
Kohli’s relentless journey to 50 ODI hundreds; Glenn Maxwell’s fastest World
Cup hundred; that manic 201* against Afghanistan; a timed-out dismissal that
caused much controversy; New Zealand coming close but falling short; Pakistan’s
exit causing significant changes at home; Sri Lanka plunging into a deep
administrative and cricketing abyss; Bangladesh conducting some introspection
of their own; and Afghanistan putting on the most captivating campaign.
In the eye of the cyclone, since the circumstances
seem to be right for a dramatic conclusion to this tournament. The finale does,
in fact, seem to be the conclusion of everything that has happened since
October 5. To begin with, these are without a doubt the top teams in the
competition. To date, India has dominated the competition to the point where,
while batting first, their average winning margin is 175 runs, and when
chasing, they often win with 64.4 balls remaining. These figures are only
surpassed by Australia’s stomping march to the 2007 World Cup final.
After two games, Australia was at the bottom of the
table, in part because India had won their opening match with relative ease.
However, they have since strung together eight wins in a row. Australia has
experienced severe scares to survive (such as being 91 for 7 chasing 292
against Afghanistan), scorching spells to see out (like Tabraiz Shamsi in the
semi-final), and determined opposition chases to weather (like New Zealand’s in
Dharamsala), in contrast to India, which has a tendency to crush their opponents
from the outset.
These dramatic scenes in the performance may have
calmed Australia down rather than wearing them out. They had not been
favourites going into this event, given their recent results, having lost
series against South Africa and India. Additionally, their campaign hasn’t been
ideal; Mitchell Starc only truly showed his mettle in the semifinals, Steven
Smith hasn’t found his game, and there have occasionally been too few powerplay
wickets.
India has been as ideal as one could hope for. They’ve
bowled out opponents for less than 80 runs twice. In their five innings as the
first batsmen, they have reached over 350 three times and 326 for five the
other. They have played excellent fielding. Throughout the campaign, four of
their top five have scored hundreds, and Shubman Gill, the fifth, has struck at
108.02 while still averaging 50.
However, Australia is one team that might not be
intimidated by over 100,000 spectators at the largest venue in the sport. They
will like the hush that typically fills stadiums when India wickets fall or an
opposition player hits a boundary, as Pat Cummins has hinted. Many members of
their team have participated in and won World Cup finals in the past. A few
players still won the T20 World Cup in 2021, while five members of the probable
Australia XI played in the 2015 World Cup final.
Maybe having been in combat counts for something as
well. Australia has a longer history of remaining composed and focused in
similar circumstances, and they have more recent experience in this regard.
Despite all the information that has since surfaced, cricket is still a game
played by people, occasionally driven by emotion.
Even so, will India allow Australia to approach? India
has performed like the sun thus far in this World Cup, while Australia has
resembled Jupiter, the solar system’s second-most massive body, albeit it is
still overshadowed by the larger body.