Motera showdown: The match-winners in our midst

IND vs AUS ICC World Cup 2023 final A lot of nostalgia will be in the air when India takes to the field for their ICC World Cup 2023 final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad After registering a heavy loss to Aussies 20 years back in a title clash in South Africa Men in Blue will be aiming to avenge that painful memory and write another glorious chapter of its cricket history with their third 50over World Cup title win that too at homeSo far in the tournament India has done the majority of things right Their top order has fired runs with an attacking intent that puts the opponent on the back in the starting itself The middleorder offers a mix of aggression and stability that not a lot of teams have brought in this tournament The pace attack has been fiery throughout the tournament while spinners have been bamboozling and hard to readExcept for a few moments where Indias top order gave away or certain bowlers looked offcolour Team India maintained its dominance and the result is 10 wins in 10 games Below are a few players from each side whose contribution could prove decisive at MoteraRohit SharmaThe Indian skipper has emerged as a synonym for positivity and aggression in this tournament With his clean sixes and effortless boundaries in the powerplay he destroys the morale of bowlers in the first 10 overs itself His quick starts always help the batters coming after him take their time settle on the crease and dominate In 10 matches Rohit has scored 550 runs at an average of 5500 with one century and three fifties He has struck his runs at a strike rate of over 124 which is one of the best in the tournamentRohit also has a fantastic ODI record against Australia In 44 ODIs against Aussies he has scored 2332 runs at an average of 5830 with eight centuries and nine fifties His best score is 209Travis HeadThe lefthanded opener is the biggest threat to the Indian bowling lineup Unlike an older more responsible partner David Warner this youngster carries no baggage of the past His aggressive freeflowing cricket is the exact replica of Indian skipper Rohit SharmaHead started off the tournament with a 67ball century against New Zealand After some bad outings he fired an aggressive 62 off 48 balls against South Africa that largely reduced the efforts of valiant Proteas to waste He has 192 runs in five matches so far with a strike rate of over 139 No matter how inconsistent he is Head cannot be ruled out from firing on big stages as he has done in the pastAlso ReadFort Motera ready for cricketrsquos biggest battleGlenn MaxwellThe allrounder had a terrible start to the ODI World Cup with a string of low scores But turned it around by smashing a 40ball century against Netherlands the fastestever in tournament history Then later against Afghanistan when the Asian side had fivetime champions struggling at 917 during a runchase of 292 Maxwell exposed wide open the gulf of championship titles inexperience and champion mentality that separated both the teams with an instant classic knock Battling cramps and heat he singlehandedly won Australia the game with 201 in 128 ballsMaxwell has struggled against Indian spinners this year But overall he is considered as one of the best players of spin With his spinplaying expertise and heavy confidence by his side Maxwell will be Australias biggest trump card against Indian spinners in middle overs He can deliver some valuable overs of spin himself against a side which has at times struggled on spinfriendly surfacesVirat KohliVirat is the tournaments leading runscorer so far In 10 matches he has scored 711 runs at an average of over 101 with three centuries and five fifties He now has the most runs in a single World Cup edition and is also the only player to have smashed 50 ODI centuries With these two records and an undefeated streak under his belt Virats morale will surely be highVirat often saves his best for games against Australia and for big clashes In 48 clashes against Aussies he has scored 2313 runs at an average of 5379 with eight centuries and 13 fifties in 46 innings It would not be surprising if Virat once again takes a giant jump in front of over 1 lakh fans at the stadium after scoring a matchwinning century or breaks another record against the mighty AussiesJasprit BumrahBumrah has been superb in the tournament so far having taken 18 wickets in 10 wickets at an average of 1833 and a strike rate of over 27 with best figures of 439 Though Bumrah is the fifthhighest wickettaker in the tournament and Shami looks better statistically the pressure exerted by Bumrah restricts the opponents run flow and allows other bowlers to thrive as wellMen in Blue have ticked all the boxes in the tournament With a hardhitting toporder middleorder offering a mix of aggression and stability a pace attack that seems to be doing some insane tricks on almost every ball and spin bowlers who choke worldclass batters with their flight and turn India has it allAussies started off the tournament in a shaky manner with heavy losses to India and South Africa two of its biggest rivals But since then the Aussies have bounced back to win eight games successively and are a chapter away from completing yet another tale of resilience aggression and domination These traits have defined the Kangaroos which have soared high in the skies for the majority of their cricket historyDavid WarnerThe veteran opener is most likely playing his last ODI World Cup at the age of 37 and unleashing the vintage heavyhitting Warner in the finals will be his aim as it could singlehandedly guide Australia to their sixth titleAlso ReadBattleground Motera Key matchups at a glanceAge is no bar for the opener as he has smashed 528 runs in 10 matches at an average of over 52 with two centuries and two fifties His best score is 163 against Pakistan A matchwinning ton in his last World Cup match will be the best way to go out for perhaps the best allformat batter produced by AustraliaMohammed ShamiAfter missing out on the first half of the tournament Shami set the World Cup on fire with his lethal spells Having played just six matches he has taken 23 wickets at an average of 913 and a strike rate of 1091 His best bowling figures of 757 also the best by an Indian in World Cups came against New Zealand in semis He is the highest wickettaker in the tournament so farShamis seam position accuracy yorkers and pace have been a nightmare for opponents this tournament He has been fantastic against lefthanders having a bowling average of just 4 against them and conceding just 32 runs in 52 balls against them Eight of his 23 wickets have been from lefthanded batters The pacer could be key in neutralising the threat of aggressive openers David Warner and Travis HeadAlso ReadThree finals two titles India in World Cup finalsMitchell StarcThe World Cup Starc did not really turn up this year With his wickettaking streak in the World Cup broken and tally reading 13 wickets in nine matches Indians batters would be looking to take advantage of the mental struggles that Starc might have faced after an underwhelming tournamentBut flashes of Starcs big match powers were witnessed in the semis against South Africa where a threewicket haul set South Africans completely backwards in the match Proteas were left incapable of scoring against him in the powerplay It would not be surprising that Starc completely peaks against India and becomes a menacing presence on the creasePat CumminsThe Australian skipper leads from the front He is known as someone who peaks at the right time Cummins has taken 13 wickets in 10 World Cup matches so far and delivered some calm muchneeded cameos with the bat during tense runchases If India gets him while bowling Cummins could get them with his bat or viceversa With Cummins also being a great leader as well there is no way to keep him out of actionWith agency inputs