Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today’s India vs Australia final of the 2023 World Cup ft. Kuldeep Yadav
They say batters win you matches while bowlers win you tournaments. It's the 2023 World Cup final and both are at stake. And it's not a surprise that both India and Australia would look at their bowlers to get them the win they so desire.
The set-ups of the two teams are completely different. After Hardik Pandya's injury, India have relied on five frontline bowlers to do the job for them. The cost of batting depth has been offset by Virat Kohli's consistency.
Australia, on the other hand, has been happier to have options. Pat Cummins uses four frontline bowlers and a host of all-rounders to help them, depending on the match situation. To manage Mitchell Starc's inconsistency with the new ball, Cummins has shown a penchant to experiment and keep the batters guessing.
Both methods work. Especially with a reliable and consistent batting set-up to help them. And now it's about which one would work better in Ahmedabad.
So who'll come on top? We can't predict. What we can try though is picking three bowlers who could be the most successful keeping in mind the pitch, the match-ups, etc.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah has been mostly overshadowed by Mohammed Shami's special resurgence in the white-ball team.
But Bumrah still has a pretty good record in the 2023 World Cup - 18 wickets at 18.33. Except for the semi-final against New Zealand, he has been mighty consistent with his lines and lengths in all three phases.
The thing that works the best in his favor today is his positive match-ups against almost every Australian batter. Apart from Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh, none averages more than 50 against him.
As Bumrah showed against Pakistan, Ahmedabad's conditions suit him well and he'd put up a tough battle for the Aussies.
#2 Adam Zampa
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa is the top wicket-taking spinner in the 2023 World Cup.
He has a brilliant record against India overall in ODIs - 34 wickets at an average of 33.21. Only Kohli averages better than 50 against him in the Indian team and even he has gotten out five times to his set-ups and googlies.
The pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium might not be a slow gripping turner but it'd likely help spinners as much as pacers. Cummins uses Zampa as his strike bowler too, bringing him up in the middle and death overs just to attack.
Zampa, with the discipline he has shown this World Cup, could put up a passive performance.
#1 Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav is to Australia and Zampa is to India. None of the Australian batters fare well against left-arm wrist spin and Kuldeep has been stunning with his craft this World Cup.
He has been at par with Zampa but with more consistency - it's just that India haven't felt his need as much because of their pacers.
Rohit has used Kuldeep more and more aggressively in the last few matches, even in death overs. These are good signs for him and the team and also show just how confident the Men in Blue are in his ability.
Australia would likely play out India's pacers well. A fit and in-form Kuldeep would be happy to hunt in the middle.