One month ago, Australia was reeling at the bottom of the World Cup standings after suffering heavy defeats to India and South Africa in its opening two matches.
Eight victories later, the Australians are one win away from lifting the World Cup trophy for a sixth time.
Pat Cummins’ men have qualified for the tournament finale despite rarely putting together what they’d consider a complete performance. The team’s middle-order has been worryingly inconsistent, while the pace bowlers have at times been expensive and inaccurate, particularly during the Powerplay.
However, after squeezing past South Africa during Thursday’s semi-final, Australia has a chance to break 1.4 billion hearts this weekend.
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India remains undefeated in the tournament, cruising to ten consecutive wins without really being challenged. There are no weaknesses in the starting XI, with their dominance reminiscent of Ricky Ponting’s legendary team from 2007.
But the Australians have already won three ODIs against India in the subcontinent this year, and there’s no reason they couldn’t make it four this weekend.
“We know that at our best, we can give them a good shake,” Cummins told reporters in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
“We’ve played them a lot over the last couple of years with success.”
The World Cup final between India and Australia gets underway at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT.
India KO feisty Kiwis to reach final | 03:56
HOW CAN THE AUSSIES TAME KING KOHLI?
Make no mistake, this has been Virat Kohli’s tournament.
The Indian superstar cemented his reputation as the greatest ODI player in history by surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds in the format earlier this week.
He’s broken the record for most runs in a World Cup, currently sitting on 711 runs at 101.57, and he looms as the crucial figure ahead of Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad.
The 110,000 fans at Narendra Modi Stadium will be chanting Kohli’s name in unison when he walks out to bat, and Australia’s bowlers will be desperate to silence the cheers.
During India’s tournament opener in Chennai, Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood enforced an error in the eighth over, producing a bouncer that Kohli miscued towards mid-wicket. However, Mitchell Marsh grassed the chance.
Kohli, unbeaten on 12 at the time, went on to score a patient 85, guiding India to victory. The Australians can’t afford another such slip-up on Sunday.
So, how can Kohli be tamed? He seems to have all the time in the world at the crease. He never looks rushed in the middle, rarely beaten on the outside edge, and he controls the middle overs of an ODI innings better than anyone.
He’s India’s anchor, judging the conditions and adapting accordingly with discipline and robotic precision.
The solution perhaps rests on Adam Zampa, Australia’s leading wicket-taker of the tournament. No spinner has dismissed Kohli more often in ODIs, with the leggie also knocking over the talented right-hander three times in T20Is.
Zampa had an off day during Thursday’s semi-final against South Africa, but he’s comfortably been Australia’s most consistent bowler throughout the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kohli has also struggled against Hazlewood in the 50-over format — since the previous World Cup in England, the Bendemeer Bullet has dismissed Kohli five times in ODIs with an average of 9.00. That record would have been even worse if Marsh hadn’t bottled the regulation catch in Chennai.
If he’s removed cheaply on Sunday, Kohli’s wicket would be remembered in the same vain as Madan Lal’s dismissal of Viv Richards in 1983 and Mitchell Starc’s yorker to Brendon McCullum in 2015.
Most times dismissing Virat Kohli in ODIs since 2016
5 — Adam Zampa (AUS)
5 — Josh Hazlewood (AUS)
4 — Tim Southee (NZ)
4 — Jhye Richardson (AUS)
King Kohli tops records with famous ton! | 01:28
AUSSIES WARY OF UNPREDICTABLE PITCH
What sort of pitch will be dished up at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday?
Will it turn, bounce, seam? Will there be grass, or will it be barren?
When asked whether the team’s susceptibility to spin was a concern ahead of Sunday’s final, bowler Mitchell Starc replied: “I guess we’ll find out when we get to Ahmedabad tomorrow and see if it’s a fresh wicket or an old wicket.”
Starc’s remark referred to the pitch furore that erupted ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final between hosts India and New Zealand in Mumbai. Wankhede Stadium curators changed from a fresh pitch to a used wicket without consulting independent ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson, understandably raising eyebrows.
“This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host,” the ICC confirmed in a statement.
“The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won’t play well.”
According to a Daily Mail report, the final will be played on a surface recommended by Atkinson, which has only been used once before during the tournament — India’s victory over Pakistan from 37 days ago.
“I’m not a great pitch ready, but it looked pretty firm,” Cummins said on Saturday.
“It looks like a pretty good wicket.
A used wicket could aid India’s world-class spin attack, headlined by Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, but the tweakers have proven time and time again that they’re a threat on all surfaces.
Regardless of what conditions they’re confronted with on Sunday, Australia will need to adapt, and do so quickly. Some squad members have spent more than five months playing cricket in the subcontinent this year, so there’s no excuses.
AUSTRALIA’S SPINNING KRYPTONITE RETURNS
Australia’s batters would be sick of the sight of Ravindra Jadeja by now.
The left-hander has dominated Australia’s middle-order across formats this year, taking 35 wickets at 22.60 in 12 matches.
After starring with the ball during last summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Jadeja claimed 3-28 in the tournament opener against Australia in Chennai, accounting for the crucial wickets of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey.
Smith has found it particularly difficult to tame Jadeja, who knocked over the New South Welshman with an absolute peach at MA Chidambaram Stadium last month. The all-rounder has dismissed Smith five times at international level this year, while nobody else has achieved the feat more than twice.
Jadeja is a weapon in the middle overs, and Australia’s batters may focus on surviving his ten-over spell rather than looking to counter-attack — it’s partly why the 34-year-old conceded less than four runs per over during the group stage.
Australia’s susceptibility to spin was glaring during Thursday’s semi-final against South Africa, particularly the ugly dismissals of Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell. If the Ahmedabad deck offers turn this weekend, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will be licking their lips.
Smith has fallen to spin on five occasions throughout the World Cup. The right-hander has only passed fifty twice in the World Cup to date, during group-stage matches against the Netherlands and Bangladesh. Labuschagne’s tournament has been just as underwhelming, while Josh Inglis’ contributions with the bat have been sparse.
Each of the three right-handers will inevitably come against Jadeja at some stage in Sunday’s match, and Australia’s chances of victory receive a massive boost if at least one of them is unbeaten heading into the death overs.
LEGACIES ON THE LINE AFTER CHAOTIC 10 MONTHS
Australia’s legacy-defining year is nearing its conclusion, and there’s plenty for captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald to celebrate.
They lifted the World Test Championship mace after losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India 2-1, retained the Ashes urn after drawing the Test series in England 2-2 and qualified for the World Cup final after losing the opening two matches by considerable margins.
However, if India wins Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad, this Australian outfit will be remembered as a good team rather than a great one. The likes of David Warner and Mitchell Starc will retire having never won a Test series in India, an Ashes campaign in England or an ODI World Cup away from home.
Warner, Starc, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins are already World Cup champions, having lifted the trophy on home soil in 2015. But achieving the feat in India, without the likes of Michael Clarke, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson among their arsenal, is a different kettle of fish.
It would secure their legacies as legends of the game.
“It’s been a huge year, with four marquee events,” Cummins said.
“If you have one of those in an off-season, it’s a big off-season. We’ve had four of them.
“Some of guys have probably spent less than a couple of weeks in their own bed since the end of the Aussie summer.
“It would top off an incredible year, probably a career-defining year that many of us will look back on and be pretty proud of.”
Defeating India on Sunday would also drastically change the narrative surrounding Cummins’ captaincy. The New South Welshman has been peppered with constant criticism throughout his tenure, partly for his on-field decisions, but mostly due to lingering resentment after Justin Langer’s abrupt exit as national coach.
However, Cummins could return home next week in possession of the Ashes urn, World Test Championship mace and World Cup trophy, each of which attained on foreign soil within a six-month window. Less than 24 months after taking over the role, he’ll have achieved more as national captain than most of his predecessors.
Even his nay-sayers would have no choice but to don their cap in appreciation.
AND DON’T FORGET INDIA’S DESTRUCTIVE SKIPPER …
Rohit Sharma hasn’t accumulated runs at the same pace as Virat Kohli in this World Cup, but his contributions have arguably been just as important.
The Indian captain has been fierce during Powerplays, boasting a tournament strike rate of 124.15, comfortably the highest among openers. He’s cleared the boundary rope 28 times over the past five weeks, a record in World Cups, while he’s been unstoppable in run chases.
Knocking over the Indian skipper early is crucial for Australia’s quicks, because even if he bats for ten overs in the final, he will have already set the platform for a massive total.
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Sharma has only been dismissed for single figures twice in the tournament thus far — against Australia in Chennai and against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Both wickets were full deliveries at the stumps, with Josh Hazlewood trapping the right-hander LBW and Dilshan Madushanka toppling his off stump.
Australia’s seamers will inevitably leak runs if they target the stumps early, but it’s a risk worth taking if Sharma’s back in the sheds before the ball stops swinging.
Hazlewood, having already toppled Sharma once in the tournament, looms as the 36-year-old’s biggest threat. The New South Welshman has only leaked 3.91 runs per over during the Powerplay to date, restricting opposition batters with Test-quality line and length.
It’s why the battle between Sharma and Hazlewood looms as one of the most intriguing ahead of the final.
