When India faces Australia in what is expected to be a clash of titans at the ICC Men’s World Cup Cricket 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, the Men in Blue would be looking to script history.
The Kangaroos, after a sluggish start that saw them occupy last place, have been on an imperious run ever since, winning seven games on the trot including a thriller with the South Africans to book their place in the final. However, they will be up against and Indian team that has had a blemish-free campaign so far.
That these two teams have been dominating world cup cricket for a long time is obvious: Of the twelve world cup campaigns held since the tournament began in 1975, the two teams have split the cup on eight occasions in the past.
For the hosts, a victory in the final will see them lift the trophy for a third time after 1983 and 2011 and place them behind only the mighty Aussies who have won the cup on five earlier campaigns in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.
For the hosts, a victory in the final will see them lift the trophy for a third time after 1983 and 2011 and place them behind only the mighty Aussies who have won the cup on five earlier campaigns in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.
The Indian team, notwithstanding a mini collapse in the very first game which they eventually won, has been playing some impeccable cricket looking unbeatable with all departments firing on all cylinders. Be it Rohit Sharma’s fiery starts, Virat Kohli’s consistency or Mohammed Shami’s wicket taking prowess, the team has not put a foot wrong so far in the campaign.
The Indian players have also broken several records this tournament becoming only the first team to record three-plus batters aggregating more than 500 runs individually in the history of the tournament besides Virat Kohli breaching the record for most runs in a single WC edition with 711 runs and counting, just to name a few.
The Men in Blue will have the chance of breaking another record and joining an exclusive club that only two other teams can boast of: to finish an undefeated World Cup campaign. This feat has been achieved on four separate occasions in the past by the West Indies in 1975 and 1979 when they won the World Cup with five wins and Australia in 2003 and 2007 with 11 straight wins.
The Men in Blue will have the chance of breaking another record and joining an exclusive club that only two other teams can boast of- completing an undefeated World Cup campaign.
However, it would be unfair to compare and try to come to a conclusion as to which campaign among them has been the most dominant and impressive owing to the diverse playing conditions and the changing formats of the tournament. The latest round robin format that has been in vogue ever since the previous edition has 10 teams compete against each other once and the top four teams progressing to the knockout stages.
What will set this team apart if they eventually manage one more victory on Sunday is that such a feat has not been achieved before, even by the Windies or Australia, where they have gone on to beat all the teams in the competition to win.
“In the past two successful campaigns, the Indian bowling attacked lacked quality pace attack and spinners had to do the heavy lifting. This Indian team has got great support from its pacers so far and that’s the big difference.”
Riaz Ahmed, former TN cricketer
Veteran cricketer and former Ranji player from Tamil Nadu Riaz Ahmed told the Ground Zero Post what sets apart this world cup campaign for India is the contribution of the pacers. “In the past two successful campaigns, the Indian bowling attacked lacked quality pace attack and spinners had to do the heavy lifting. This Indian team has got great support from its pacers so far and that’s the big difference,” he said.
The hopes of 1.3 billion people hang heavily on the shoulders of the 11 taking to the field tomorrow. The Narendra Modi Stadium, with its record attendance will be a sea of blue with chants of ‘India India’ reverberating through the stands. The cricketing world will be watching. And, it would to be the right time for the Men in Blue to establish their total domination of what used to be known as the only ‘gentleman’s sport’.