What happened the last time India played Australia in a World Cup knockout?
The stage is set for the final showdown of the ICC men's ODI World Cup 2023, as Teams India and Australia go head-to-head to be crowned champions. The highly anticipated game will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahemdabad on Sunday, November 19.
The Rohit Sharma-led side powered their way into the final after beating New Zealand in the first semifinal in Mumbai by 70 runs. In a team where roles have been shared with utmost diligence, every player seems to be on song for the Men in Blue.
The high-flying Indian team have remained spotless throughout the campaign, having won all 10 of their 2023 ODI World Cup matches thus far. Another win on Sunday will see them join Australia to record the joint-most consecutive wins in ODI World Cup history (11).
The Australian team, meanwhile, started their campaign with two losses. However, their comeback has been quite fantastic, to say the least. The Pat Cummins-led unit are themselves on an eight-game winning streak. They narrowly beat South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata to make their eighth final in ODI cricket's biggest event.
Australia thumped India the last time these two sides met in an ODI World Cup knockout game
India don't have pleasant memories of facing Australia in ICC World Cup knockout matches, having lost two of the three big fixtures. Even the last time these two teams met in an ODI World Cup knockout game, India got a 95-run battering.
It was the second semi-final of the 2015 ODI World Cup in Sydney, where Australia streamrolled past the Men in Blue to enter the final before becoming eventual champions.
Winning the toss, Australia got off to a disastrous start as they lost the all-important wicket of David Warner to Umesh Yadav in the fourth over of the match.
However, both Steve Smith and Aaron Finch batted intelligently to put India under pressure. The two right-handers stitched together a prolific 182-run second-wicket partnership to help the Aussies put up a massive first-innings total.
While Finch was dismissed on 81, Smith went on to hit a fabulous hundred. The Australian No. 3 made 105 off 93, which included 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes. Mitchell Johnson (27* off 9) and James Faulkner (21 off 12) provided the finishing touches before Australia ended on 328/7.
The two Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, started cautiously but added 76 runs for the first wicket. Dhawan, in particular, looked threatening but failed to convert his 45 before losing his wicket against Josh Hazlewood.
In came Virat Kohli, who looked horribly out of touch as he scored only one run in his first 12 balls. He soon lost his wicket to left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson as India looked down the barrel. Rohit was the next one to bite the dust as he was cleaned bowled by Johnson (2/50).
Dhoni (65) and Ajinkya Rahane (44) added 70 runs for the fifth wicket to give India hope of a late miracle. But two quick run-outs - of the India captain and Ravindra Jadeja - removed any hopes of them reaching their second successive final.
India lost their last six wickets in a span of only 55 runs and were bundled out for 233 to lose the game by 95 runs.
Four members of the present team - Rohit, Kohli, Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami - were in the playing XI of the 2015 semi-final. They will look to make amends in the upcoming game on Sunday.