"Looking forward to Josh Hazlewood bowling to India's top order" - Gautam Gambhir ahead of IND vs AUS 2023 World Cup final
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir feels one of the most interesting player battles to watch out for in the 2023 World Cup final between India and Australia will be Josh Hazlewood against India's top order.
Gambhir shed light on how well Hazlewood has been bowling of late. He made the ball talk in the semifinal against South Africa and also had India in deep trouble when the two teams met in the league phase.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda ahead of the final, here's what Gautam Gambhir had to say about this particular match-up:
"Looking forward to Hazlewood bowling to India's top order. Hazlewood has had a phenomenal World Cup and it will be interesting to see what will happen when he bowls to Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli."
Gambhir has also been impressed with Glenn Maxwell's impact as an all-rounder. He added:
"Maxwell didn't only score a double hundred and a hundred, but also has bowled really well. Australia have just one specialist spinner in their ranks in Adam Zampa. So imagine what pressure Maxwell would have been under as their second spinner. Still he has delivered well and that's why he is my all-in-one player."
Gautam Gambhir on India's strong bowling attack
Gautam Gambhir feels India's bowlers have delivered under immense pressure. After Hardik Pandya was ruled out with an ankle injury, the hosts had to depend on just five bowling options and Gambhir felt it was a testament to their quality that they collectively didn't have an off day.
On this, he stated:
"After Hardik's injury, we have spoken that with just five specialist bowlers, teams will look to target one or two of them. However, that hasn't happened because of the quality of the five bowlers. Imagine the amount of pressure they might be under knowing that they have to complete their quota of overs even if they are having an off day. We have spoken a lot about batters and I feel it is time to praise the bowlers for delivering under pressure."
With more than one lakh Indians cheering in the stadium in Ahmedabad, India will look to end their 12-year wait for a World Cup on Sunday.