On November 19, Sunday, India will face Australia in the final of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium -- the world's largest cricket arena with a seating capacity of 1,32,000. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
The Men in Blue qualified for the final by defeating New Zealand in the semi-final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, while the five-time champions advanced by defeating South Africa by three wickets at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
Rainfall in the City of Joy momentarily disrupted the semi-final match on Thursday. Naturally, there is conjecture that rain will also play a role in the match between Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins' teams.
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Ahmedabad Weather Forecast - November 19, 2023
Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-thirties are forecast for the start of the game in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Winds will blow at 7 km/hr from the south and south-west, and humidity will be rather high at 39%.
The wind will gust to 19 km/h, and the dew point will be 16°. There will be no cloud cover and a zero percent chance of precipitation during the game, opening the way for nonstop activity in the first half.
The weather will clear up by evening, with temperatures falling to 24°C and the wind veering to the southwest at the same pace. The humidity will rise to 58%, but the dew point will remain nearly constant at 17°. Again, there will be no cloud cover, removing any fears about rains disrupting play on Sunday.
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Pitch Report
According to rumours, the final would be staged on the same black soil pitch that was used for India and Pakistan's league stage encounter. The Men in Blue had chased down Pakistan's 192-run total with seven wickets in hand and with 20 overs to spare.
So far, the Ahmedabad pitch has aided spinners in the 2023 World Cup. Even though fast bowlers have taken more wickets (35) than spinners (22), the latter have been incredibly frugal, averaging just 4.89 runs per over. On this surface, Adam Zampa (three for 21) plagued the English batters, while India's Kuldeep Yadav (two for 35) had Pakistan's middle-order spinning.
The stadium has held four matches in the tournament thus far, including the opening match, and has not proved conducive to run-scoring. Australia's highest score is 286, which England failed to match and was swept out for 253.
