The World Cup awaits its coronation. Opening its campaign against Australia at Chennai on Oct. 8, India will now face the same opponent in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. For the Men in Blue, life has come a full circle while they seek the Cup that will add lustre to their legacy.
The host has remained unbeaten so far and the rival has notched eight wins on the trot. Just like the IAF jets that did their sorties on Saturday, India and Australia too want to scale the skies when the dust eventually settles on the quadrennial tournament. Just that one team will embrace ecstasy while the other will sulk in agony, and that is the nature of sport.
Australia last played a World Cup final on Indian soil in the 1987 edition when Allan Border’s men prevailed over England at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Cut to the present, the challenge is even more arduous as Rohit Sharma’s men are in red-hot form.
