India battle Australia again in the Cricket World Cup final on home soil on Sunday.
The hosts cruised to victory in all nine matches on their way to reaching the knockout stages, before backing that up with a semi-final win over New Zealand. It is difficult to find any form or analysis that points to them falling short in front of a massive expectant crowd, but they must hold their nerve under the most extreme pressure to end their 12-year wait for a title on the world stage.
It will be the eighth time that the Australians play their part in this showpiece event, having lifted the trophy on five occasions, and it has been a superb response from Pat Cummins' side after losing their first two matches of the tournament. They booked their place in the final with a nervy victory over South Africa.
However, if Australia are the story come Sunday night, something has gone drastically wrong for India. Rohit Sharma and his team-mates have been imperious over the past six weeks, easing past the Australians in their opening group-stage match and they have showed no signs of slowing down since then.
Virat Kohli has already made 711 runs, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most at a World Cup with a game to spare, and he now has 50 ODI centuries to his name. Mohammed Shami is the top wicket taker at the tournament as it stands, despite only playing six matches.
Date, start time and venue
India vs Australia is scheduled for an 8:30am GMT start time today, Sunday November 19, 2023.
The match will take place at Ahmedabad's huge Narendra Modi Stadium, which holds 132,000 spectators.
Where to watch India vs Australia
TV channel: The game will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket. Coverage of the final starts at 7:30am.
Live stream: Subscribers will also be able to watch online via the Sky Go app.
India vs Australia prediction
It may be 10 wins from 10 so far for India at the World Cup, but that will count for nothing unless they can make it 11 on the biggest stage.
The pressure of the occasion is one of the biggest obstacles in India's way, particularly if it gets tight. India's dominance has been such that they have not really been significantly tested at any stage in the tournament
When chasing they have always had at least four wickets in hand, while only New Zealand have got within 100 runs of a total posted by the Indian battling lineup.
Australia's task therefore is to silence the crowd and get some nerves jangling, as the Black Caps were able to do to a degree in their semi-final clash before falling short.
The key battle will come at the top of the order - the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood must stop Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli getting off to a flyer.
Even if they do though, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are in sparkling form, and that firepower is backed up by an Indian attack that has everything. The hosts can enjoy their crowning moment.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Australia have won the majority of the 150 ODI matches between the two teams, but India have come out on top in three of the four games played in the past two months.
India wins: 57
Australia wins: 83
No result: 10
India vs Australia match odds
India to win the World Cup: 5/12
Australia to win the World Cup: 39/20
