The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will mark the second time India and Australia meet in the final. The two giants of the sport met first in 2003, a match that the current record-champions won with ease, prolonging an era of unchallenged dominance that saw them win two more trophies on either side of their triumph in South Africa, until, ironically, India broke the streak in 2011. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
2011 was India's second triumph in the ICC ODI World Cup, the first dating back to 1983. Strangely, though, it was also only the second time a team hosting the tournament had finished the tournament as winners; Sri Lanka had accomplished the feat first in 1996, winning a competition they had hosted together with neighbours India and Pakistan.
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India's victory in 2011 altered the script; starting with the Men in Blue in 2011, every host nation of the subsequent ODI World Cup has won the World Cup - Australia, again, in 2015, and England, their first, in 2019. Banking on the fact that home comforts have benefited the host nation in the previous three editions, India will again take on Australia, two decades after their last meeting in the Cricket World Cup final, hoping to stretch that streak to four.
This version of the Indian team has been utterly dominant on their road to the final - a deat none of the three previous winners accomplished. The Men in Blue played nine league games and won all of them before beating New Zealand in the semi-final; at no juncture during their campaign did they face a challenge that left them stumped.
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India, in 2011, weren't as commanding. Led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, featuring a legendary core of individuals on their last legs, India beat Sri Lanka in the final to lift their second ODI title, but they were far from perfect en route to their triumph. For starters, the Men in Blue didn't top their group, but finished behind South Africa. They lost to the Proteas in Nagpur and drew with England in Bengaluru. However, their fortunes only improved as the tournament went on. Beating Australia, Pakistan, and then Sri Lanka, India concluded a successful home contest, much to the delight of their cricket-crazy fans.
Four years later, Australia jointly hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with New Zealand - and sure enough the two contested the final after a month-long arduous tournament, which the Aussies won. Drawn in the same group, Australia and New Zealand advanced as the top two teams, before beating Pakistan and West Indies, respectively. Australia, then, beat defending champions India in the semis, while New Zealand suvived the threat posed to them by South Africa to enter the final, which the former won by seven wickets.
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New Zealand, again, reached the ICC ODI World Cup final in 2019, but found themselves in the unenviable position of being the team playing against the host nation for the trophy. England, progenitors of cricket, had never won the ODI World Cup, and the Three Lions were determined to cross the threshold this time around. What ensued was a final unlike any other; after the two teams drew in 50 overs and then in the Super Over, England were declared winners due to their higher boundary count.
India will hope that it doesn't come to such fine margins on November 19. With the home crowd behind them, the Men in Blue will aim to stretch the streak of host nation winners into its fourth edition and bring their third world title home.
