In the cyclone’s eye, this tournament deserves a dramatic finish, and the stage seems set for one. The final really does feel like the culmination of all the events since October 5. For a start, there can be no doubt these are the best teams of the competition. India have dominated the tournament so far, with an average winning margin of 175 runs when batting first and an average win with 64.4 balls to spare when chasing, rivaling only Australia’s march to the 2007 World Cup final. Australia has put together a sequence of eight victories after finding themselves at the bottom of the table after two matches. Australia has had major scares to survive and determined opposition chases to weather, while India has been as close to perfect as imaginable. Australia might not be daunted by more than 100,000 fans in the biggest stadium, being battle-tested and having more recent experience in close situations. The game will get close and Australia has a long-term history of keeping themselves sharp. India has been like the sun, and Australia like Jupiter, and India has been at the match advancing the march toward’s India’s glory. Key players in the spotlight include Mohammed Shami and Pat Cummins. This game is held at a used deck in Ahmedabad with no rain forecast. No indication from either team that their semi-final XIs will need any tinkering with. India seems to have their set XI and Australia may think about bringing Marcus Stoinis into the team ahead of Marnus Labuschagne. Stats and trivia include that six of the likely players across the two teams have played in a World Cup final before, and Mitchell Starc is third on the all-time World Cup wicket-takers’ list, with 62 wickets to his name.
