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An elite competition like as the men’s 50-over World
Cup has as its primary goal for the two top teams to advance to the
championship game following a tough and difficult round-robin schedule.
When the home team, India, easily defeated the other
team in the first semi-final, the tournament’s organisers were ecstatic. More
hopes were then fulfilled as South Africa fell in a classic fashion to lose a
thrilling second semi-final, and Australia, the second-best team, found form at
the right time to slide into the final.
Fortunately, the round-robin phase lacked intense
competition, but as planned, the top two teams advance to the championship
game. All we can hope for now, with the possible exception of the hometown
commentators, is a climax worthy of the event.
India is favoured to win because they are the greatest
all-around team and have the most potent wicket-taker in Mohammed Shami and the
most dominant run-maker in Virat Kohli.
Australia is a worthy rival. They have a wicket-taker
in Mitchell Starc who has shown success, as well as a bowler whose left-arm
variation has caused problems for Kohli. Australia have an explosive opening
combination in David Warner and Travis Head, who will put India’s potent
new-ball attack to the test. Glenn Maxwell is a phenomenal power player in the
middle order who, when using the same strategy, can be an unbeatable
match-winner or a colossal letdown.
Both sides have hitters who can light up the bat and
post an almost unachievable mark, but they also have potent bowling assaults
that can limit their opponents to a reachable aim.
Maybe expecting a well-balanced pitch to be prepared
only by following the local groundskeeper’s recommendations is asking for too
much. That would be great if it did, as long as the bothersome dew didn’t
affect the outcome.
In an attempt to establish a good target on the board
and force their opponents to field in the sweltering afternoon heat, the
winning team in the coin toss should think about going to bat first. India and
Australia do not want to be chasing a difficult target, such as the one that
New Zealand encountered in their semi-final.
One factor that will play a big part in deciding the
final will be the nerve of each team’s main bowlers. The team that holds its
nerve best when the other side chooses full attack mode will go a long way
towards winning the match.
It is imperative to bowl for wickets instead than
attempting to contain the opposition, and to keep looking for wickets during
the middle overs. Australia has a weakness here that India would be eager to
take advantage of because they are known to struggle against strong spin
bowling. If Australia wants to win the championship, they will need to get past
that weakness.
Australia also knows that if they can remove a couple
of India’s top-order batsmen, it will lessen their appetite to attack because
India is known to have a vulnerable bottom four. With the two new balls, this
is where Australia’s lightning-fast pace attack, led by the inspirational Pat
Cummins, the unwavering Josh Hazlewood, and the formidable Starc, must perform
at their peak.
If the final is competitive it will boil down to a
nail-biting cliff-hanger, which is exactly what you should expect from the two
best teams.
Expect India to perform at their best and Australia to
falter slightly, producing a narrow home victory that will set off yet another
wild round of celebrations.