At Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19, India will play Australia in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. In what has been dubbed the ‘3 ka dream’, Team India will be looking to win their third title in what has been dubbed the ‘3 ka dream’, while the Aussies will be aiming for a record sixth victory. 

Importance of this World Cup for India

India, who won the World Cup in 2011 when captained by MS Dhoni, would look to maintain their momentum as the nation that initiated the pattern of winning the tournament at home. This would be the country’s fourth ODI World Cup final. There have been two World Cups on home soil since then, with Australia and England winning in 2015 and 2019. The Indian team could become the second team to defeat Australia in a World Cup final after West Indies and Sri Lanka. This will also be India’s first victory against Australia. India lost badly in 2003 to South Africa in the last final between these two teams.   

It would also make India the only team after Australia to have won the World Cup twice at home, after having hosted it four times. India would also become the only team to have won the World Cup three times or more.  

The journey of Rohit Sharma from not in the team to being the captain of the team 

Rohit Sharma could be set up for a fairytale ending. After missing out on the final 15 players for India’s squad at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Rohit was devastated and expressed his frustration through a tweet. In the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, he was promoted to opener, and has not looked back since. But he made sure to do really well so that he wouldn’t miss any more ICC tournaments.  

Rohit has had an incredible tournament with the bat, giving India tremendous starts at the top and breaking the back of the bowling attacks early on. He is one of only three players to have scored more than 500 runs in two World Cups, along with Sachin Tendulkar (1996 and 2003) and David Warner (2019 and 2023). Thanks to Rohit at the top, the intent that was always discussed, but never implemented, has finally been released on the field. 

Rohit could end up in a fairytale ending, especially given the fact that the 2023 World Cup could be his last World Cup. He went from being excluded from the 2011 World Cup to lifting the trophy as only the third Indian captain to do so. 

The journey of Virat Kohli, who reached his 50th century after averaging 13 in knockouts 

Virat Kohli had scored 9, 1 and 1 in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup, the 2015 World Cup and the 2019 World Cup before he hit the record fiftieth ton. In the knockouts, he averaged around 13 and had no fifties or centuries to boast of. 

With over 700 runs in this World Cup, Virat Kohli has now passed his idol Sachin Tendulkar, with whom he won his first World Cup in 2011, and hit three centuries. Neither a batter nor a team has gone over 700 runs in one World Cup edition before. It would be his goal to shine at the biggest stage of them all and win the Cup, if not as captain, then as a player, just as his idol did.