As the world heritage city of Ahmedabad gears up for the much-awaited final of the Cricket World Cup 2023, cricket fans hold their breath in anticipation of the big day.

History tells you that Australia are the favourites to win big events, the days that matter. Recent history will tell you that India has the game in their pocket.

India vs Australia in 2003 World Cup final

Twenty years ago, things were not the same. In sports and sports politics. Australia were the giants, and in 2003, India was a team full of legends, but no one would have given them a chance to be in the World Cup final that was not played at home.

The ‘Team India’ that we know today, was just a concept. Ruling over the world was a dream, and though the talent and hunger were there, it would take some years after that for India to become a superpower.

Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid were the nuclear elements of that Sahara blue outfit that ran rampant in South Africa in 2003. India, up until recently, relied unhealthily on their top three to perform, and these three were a good reason for it.

Beating everyone except Australia in the group stage and knockouts, India marched into the finals, and yet, were still underdogs compared to the mighty Aussies. They had already won the 1987 and 1999 World Cups then, and they would go on to win the 2003, 2007, and 2015 World Cups.

What followed in the 2003 final was a humbling experience for India. Riding on the captain Ricky Ponting’s explosive century, Australia posted a total of 359, something that was highly unattainable those days, that too in knockout stages.

India, losing Sachin Tendulkar in the first over itself, never came back in the game. They would wait for another eight years for a World Cup final, which they won in 2011.

India’s rise as a cricketing superpower

Twenty years later, the dynamics indicate a paradigm shift. In cricket politics, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a powerful presence in the cricket world, running it with its influence and cash flow, thanks to innovations like the Indian Premier League (IPL) that helped India become a cricketing powerhouse.

The team, now less relying on the top three but steamrolling everyone as a whole, has not lost to any side in the tournament. In fact, analysts and pundits around the world have compared this Indian outfit to the Australia of 2003 and 2007. 

If this Indian team is the Australia of 2003 or 2007, then where does Australia stand in 2023? The Pat Cummins-led team, after the sandpaper gate of 2018, has been through its highs and lows. In the last 10 months or so, they have won the Ashes test series away from home, the World Test Championship, and now have made it to the final.

In between, they have gone through captain and coach changes, have lost two Border-Gavaskar Trophies against India, and started the tournament with two losses in two matches.

India, on the other hand, has been topping the World Cup tables since the last three editions, making it to the knockouts of the tournaments, and has been knocked out every time. Their last international tournament win came in the 2013 Champions Trophy.

India vs Australia in the 2023 World Cup final

Australia has played and won more finals than India, especially in the 50-over ODI format. However, India in recent years has challenged them like no other teams have, and it has turned out to be one of the more interesting modern-day cricketing rivalries.

In the knockout stages of such long tournaments, one bad day can end your journey, no matter how well you did in the group stage, ask South Africa, who just lost to Australia in the semi-final in Kolkata.

Many believe that Australia, despite their shaky start to the World Cup, have ‘peaked’ at the right moment, so that the momentum can carry them all the way across the finishing line.

And that’s where India’s challenges would lie. They have been unbeaten throughout the tournament and would start as the favourites of the final. That is until the first ball is bowled at the Narendra Modi Stadium. After that, it all comes down to who plays better on that day.

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