Ahmedabad, Nov 18: Ahead of the title clash of the World Cup scheduled for Sunday, India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid inspected the pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Dravid inspected the pitch along with Rohit, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip.
The Men in Blue also held a practice session ahead of the title clash with Australia on Sunday. Unbeaten in the tournament, India reached the final with a stellar semi-final victory against New Zealand.
The match had interesting moments as the Kiwis gave it all to chase India’s huge score but pacer Mohammed Shami struck at crucial moments to ensure the team’s victory.
India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the match played in Mumbai on Wednesday. Australia scored a hard-fought victory over South Africa in the second semi final in Kolkata on Thursday. They won by three wickets.
If India win the final in Ahmedabad, it will be the second time they will win the marquee tournament on home soil.
In international cricket, Australia’s Adam Zampa has dismissed talismanic India’s Virat Kohli on eight occasions and former cricketer Trent Copeland believes one might see the leg-spinner being used heavily in the middle overs phase to counter the talismanic right-handed batter during the World Cup final on Sunday.
Kohli is currently the leading run-getter of the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup with 711 runs in 10 matches, averaging 101.57 at a strike rate of 90.68. On the other hand, Zampa is the second-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 22 scalps at an average of 21.40 and an economy rate of 5.47.
“Kohli is just so good against everyone. Adam Zampa is the one that stands out and in Indian conditions, it’s a matchup that is pretty good for Australia. If Virat gets through the quicks, then we will see heavy use of Adam Zampa through that middle phase,” said Copeland on SEN Radio.
Kohli enters Sunday’s final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on the back of making his 50th ODI century against New Zealand in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, breaking the all-time record previously held by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.