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As India takes on Australia in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, with eyes on the trophy, a pertinent question that the Men In Blue will be ponder is with whom should they open their bowling against the mighty batting line-up.
The final presents a chance for India to make the most of home conditions to lift the trophy for the third time and avenge the heart-breaking loss to the Invincible Aussies of the 2000s in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. For India to lift the trophy after 12 years, it would be of utmost importance that each and every player to give their everything on the field. A lot depends on how India's bowling unit consisting of pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj and spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja will perform. Indian bowlers have been sensational in the tournament so far. Be it restricting the team to the modest total while bowling first or defending a chaseable total, delivering early wickets in powerplay or putting brakes on runs in death overs, Men in Blue has done it all with the ball. But the key question is, will India change who gets to open the bowling, based on the form and aggression of Australian openers Travis Head and David Warner? Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who usually opens the bowling, has not been very effective against Warner. In 14 innings that these two have faced off, Bumrah has given away 117 runs in 130 balls. While 71 of these balls have been dot balls, Bumrah has not dismissed the opener ever in ODIs. Warner has hit Bumrah for 16 fours, but no sixes, hence 64 of his runs have come in boundaries against Bumrah. Rest, Warner has relied on strike rotation, mostly singles. Against Travis, Bumrah has played in three innings. Bumrah has conceded 14 runs in 12 balls, with two fours. Six of these balls have been dot balls. Bumrah has fared way better against Head, but the form this opener is in, there is no guarantee that the pacer will be spared or not. On the other hand, Shami has been a nightmare for batters. In his WC run this year, Shami has bowled 52 deliveries to left-arm batters. He has conceded just 32 runs against them. Shami's eight out of his 23 wickets in the tournament have been left-handers. The bowler has claimed wickets of Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner and Devon Conway of New Zealand, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali of England, Charith Asalanka of Sri Lanka among the left-handed batters. The best part is that Shami has been extremely cheap against left-arm batters, averaging only four runs per wicket. The pressure he has put on batters is given full justice by these numbers. In six WC 2023 games, Shami has taken 23 wickets at an average of 9.13 and a strike rate of 10.91. His best figures are 7/57. He is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far. Bumrah has been superb in the tournament so far, having taken 18 wickets in 10 wickets at an average of 18.33 and a strike rate of over 27, with best figures of 4/39. Though Bumrah is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament and Shami looks better statistically, the pressure exerted by Bumrah restricts the opponent's run flow and allows other bowlers to thrive as well. India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav. Australia squad: Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)
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