India vs. Australia, a marquee matchup, rarely gets bigger than this as two of the cricketing giants are in the final to fight it out in the land of ‘Bharat.’ This year, it will be the 13th final of the tournament, but as you can already deduce, it won’t be the first time for both teams to have a clash in the final.
Australia has been in 7, and India has been in 3 finals, but it was the 2003 WC final where both teams fought in the final to lift the trophy.
Batting first, Australia posted an imposing total of 359/2 in their 50 overs. Ricky Ponting played an innings for the ages, scoring an unbeaten 140 off just 121 balls. His innings included 4 sixes and 8 fours, setting the tone for Australia’s formidable total. Adam Gilchrist also complemented Ponting’s innings with a quickfire 57 runs off 48 balls.
In response, India faced an uphill battle. Despite valiant efforts from Virender Sehwag (82) and Rahul Dravid (47), the required run rate proved too steep. India finished their innings at 234 in 39.2 overs, falling short by 125 runs. Glenn McGrath came out as the bowling maestro with a spell of 3/52.
But this time, the stakes are different, the battleground is different, the story is different. And this time, India comes out as the strongest team of the tournament, and Australia has to play the role of the underdog.
