India vs Australia World Cup final: A rematch after 20 years promises plenty

For Indian cricket fans of the current vintage, it might be hard to look beyond the Rohits and the Kohlis, the Bumrahs and the Shamis. That’s not being judgmental; life in itself, and the various elements associated with it, have been magnified by social media, opinions formed on the basis of the overload of information that abounds at the click of a button.

Fans of an earlier vintage might not scoff at these developments which are inevitable. But it wouldn’t have escaped them that Sunday’s (November 19) final of the World Cup 2023 at the gargantuan Narendra Modi Stadium is a rerun of the title clash of 2003, when the same two teams – Australia and India – locked horns at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.

India's winning run under Ganguly

So much has happened in the intervening 20 and a half years that it is futile to even attempt to draw comparisons. But there are so many different similarities, if that makes any sense, that it’s hard to overlook the obvious.

In 2003, Australia embarked on an unbeaten run to the final, crushing all before them on the back of the might of their batting and the incisiveness of their bowling even in the absence of Shane Warne, suspended just before the tournament for failing a drug test. Their first opponents of the World Cup were the same ones they met in the final – Australia swept India aside by nine wickets in the league clash and were equally dominant during their 125-run win in the final.

Between these two dispiriting defeats, India themselves had run a wonderful ship under Sourav Ganguly, winning eight matches on the trot. That’s the exact number of consecutive wins Pat Cummins’ men are sitting on as they go into Sunday’s contest against the only unbeaten side of World Cup 2023 thus far, Rohit Sharma’s intimidating India.

Like in 2003, their face-off in Chennai on October 8 was the first outing of this competition for both India and Australia. India recovered from a horror start to their run-chase of 200 – they were gasping at three wickets down for two runs – to surge home by six wickets. Extrapolating the events of 2003, it will be tempting to install the hosts as favourites for a third World Cup crown, but cricket in particular and sport as a whole does not necessarily follow such scripts, do they?

Two dominant, consistent teams

Without a shadow of doubt, India and Australia have been the two most dominant, consistent teams of the tournament. Beyond their triumphant undefeated run, India have been the side to beat, stacking up tall totals through unshackled aggression and riding on the combined strength of their bowling attack with their fiery quicks as the battering rams to eke out one comprehensive win after another. On the odd occasion when they have been pushed to a corner, they have found the resilience and the wherewithal to dig deep and bounce back in style.

At the start of the World Cup, Hardik Pandya loomed as the central figure in a side stacked with match-winners. India lost the services of the all-rounder with their campaign not even 40% done; it’s credit to the team that Pandya hasn’t been missed thus far, the specialists taking up the additional responsibility in his absence and commendably filling the gaping lacuna.

Australia’s poor start to the tournament was uncharacteristic and unbecoming of a unit that knows what it takes to win big moments, big matches, big competitions. The five-time former champions must have been disgusted at their approach, more than anything else, in their tame defeats to India and South Africa. Regrouping after the loss to South Africa, Australia have been a raging force thereafter, the return from injury of opener Travis Head and the irrepressible unorthodoxy in the middle order of Glenn Maxwell as crucial to their fortunes as the skills of little leggie Adam Zampa, the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker, just one behind Mohammed Shami’s 23 sticks.

Understandably, there is no active player from the 2003 final in either squad, though one of the major influencers behind India’s march to the final 20 years back shoulders significant responsibility within the camp as the head coach. Rahul Dravid wasn’t just Ganguly’s deputy in 2003, he donned the wicketkeeping gloves to extend the batting order and slipped into the role of the finisher with practiced ease. The pyrotechnics of Sachin Tendulkar (Player of the Tournament), Virender Sehwag and Ganguly took the spotlight away from Dravid but then again, Dravid was at his most comfortable away from public glare. He played key hands in several notable victories, not least against Pakistan and New Zealand, though even the pragmatic Dravid will be hard pressed not to recall the events of the final at the Wanderers Bullring on March 23.

Rohit's calmness

Zaheer Khan’s action-packed first over was a foretaste of what was to come. The left-arm quick started the final with a no-ball, then engaged both openers, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, in needless verbals. The end result – 15 came off the first over, 359 (for two) off 50, Ricky Ponting’s unbeaten 140 an absolute masterclass.

India were their own worst enemies, allowing their emotions to get the better of them. No matter the result this Sunday, one can rest assured that India won’t beat themselves this time. Not with the calm of Rohit to lead them in the middle, not with the sagacity of Dravid to calm the nerves and provide much-needed reality checks in the dugout.

India looked a little flat and bereft of energy and ideas during the 181-run stand between Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell in Wednesday’s semifinal. It’s a given that Rohit and Dravid would have addressed that issue, a rare blip in a campaign when India have been assured, composed, unflappable, unflustered. The pulls and pressures of a knockout game tend to force players to do strange things, but even though they haven’t won many titles, there is enough experience within the Indian ranks to ensure there is no repeat of the Wankhede at Motera.

Australia are the current World Test and T20I champions, and are in a unique position to complete a grand treble. Few teams are more dangerous when on a roll than the masters of the mind; but even they will know that in Rohit’s bunch, they face worthy opponents who are desperate for ultimate success, but not obsessively counter-productively so.