The time has come for the Men’s ODI World Cup Final, with India set to host Australia in a blockbuster contest to decide the 2023 title winner.
Over 130,000 spectators will pack out Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday evening, and you can bet that nearly every single one of them will be cheering on the home side as they chase a third ODI World Cup crown.
Check out our full preview of the match below, complete with betting tips and player props!
2023 ICC Men’s World Cup Final Betting Tips
India vs Australia ODI
Ahmedabad, Sunday 19th November, 7:30pm (AEDT)
India
India have produced a flawless campaign so far, winning all 10 matches with no real close calls.
Every player has contributed to the success of the host side in some way, and that consistency across the board has made India such a tough assignment for opposition teams.
From a batting perspective, every challenge has been met and comfortably exceeded – India have had the opportunity to both set totals and chase, scoring 326+ in each of their last four matches and losing just 48 wickets over the whole tournament at an average of 4.8 per game.
Individually, Virat Kohli (711 runs @ 101), Rohit Sharma (550 runs @ 55) and Shreyas Iyer (526 runs @ 75) are all among the top 10 run scorers for the tournament, with Kohli sitting at the top of that list by some margin.
With the ball India have performed equally well, bowling out their opposition in 8/10 matches.
Mohammed Shami has been the chief destroyer with 23 wickets, including seven in a match winning semi-final spell against New Zealand. He has been well supported by Jasprit Bumrah (18 wickets), Ravindra Jadeja (16 wickets), Kuldeep Yadav (15 wickets) and Mohammed Siraj (13 wickets), with all five frontline bowlers sitting inside the top 20 campaign wicket takers.
As such, there are no real identifiable faults in the XI that will take to the park in the Final. With that in mind, India will be supremely difficult to beat on Sunday.
India Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Australia
Australia may not have had the same easy run to the Final that India has enjoyed, but they equally deserve to be there.
The men in green and gold have recovered from a 0-2 start to the tournament to qualify for the Final, winning eight games in a row including a three-wicket semi-final victory over South Africa.
Despite restricting the Proteas to just 212 thanks to a masterclass of swing bowling up front, the Aussies fell into some trouble during a nervy run chase, eventually guided home by skipper Pat Cummins and his fast-bowling counterpart Mitch Starc.
While the quicks did the job in the semi, Australia have mostly relied on explosive batting performances and leg spinner Adam Zampa in this World Cup.
Zampa has taken 22 wickets, the second most of any bowler, while David Warner (528 runs @ 52), Mitch Marsh (426 runs @ 53) and Glenn Maxwell (398 runs @ 66) have propelled Australia to some massive totals.
Unlike India, Australia have had to carry a couple of underperforming stars throughout the campaign, however that could quickly change in the cauldron of a World Cup Final.
I expect Australia to tackle this contest with an unchanged XI, Marnus Labuschagne holding his spot over Marcus Stoinis due to his superior fielding and the use of part-time spin options over seam alternatives.
Australia Predicted XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Betting Tips
This tournament has been India’s to lose from the start, with the host side taking advantage of a squad stacked with talent and favourable home conditions to reach the Final undefeated.
India truly have all the boxes ticked on paper – the top order is dynamic and in-form, there is no drop off in ability through the middle order, the quicks are consistent wicket takers and finally Jadeja and Yadav often bamboozle opposition batters through the middle overs.
Although Australia have been fantastic since dropping their first two matches, I don’t think their XI stacks up in this one, especially on the batting front.
As such, I’m confident that India will get the job done on Sunday.
Player Prop Quick Tips
Kuldeep Yadav 2+ Wickets - $1.90 (Ladbrokes) – Yadav has taken 15 wickets in this campaign, managing multiple wickets in 6/10 matches. It’s like beating a dead horse at this point, but Australian batsmen struggle against spin and the pitch on Sunday will likely be a slow turner, so Yadav will have a massive role to play.
India Fall of Wicket 1 Over 34.5 - $1.83 (Ladbrokes) – India arguably have the best opening pair of any team, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill both in fine form. The duo have produced partnerships of 71, 100 and 62 in India’s last three matches, and before Thursday Australia struggled to take early wickets, so this line seems low.
