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Team India arrived at the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of the much-anticipated World Cup final against Australia on Sunday.
The excitement started building around the stadium as fans from all over the country gathered outside the arena, praying and wishing that the hosts pip the five-time champions to their second world title in the 50-over format. Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the Ahmedabad airport earlier in the day to support the Indian team for the 'all or nothing" clash. The hosts went through the league phase of the tournament unbeaten and recorded a thumping 70-run win over New Zealand to book their spot in the championship clash. Australia, on the other hand, lost their first two games in the league phase but recovered thereafter to reach the summit clash. While had it easy against the Kiwis on Wednesday, barring some fleeting anxious moments when centurion Daryl Mitchell and skipper Kane Williamson were involved in a 181-run partnership, South Africa made Australia sweat in their chase of a humble target of 213 on a spiteful surface at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. The hosts will square off against Australia for the first time in 20 years in the ODI World Cup final. In the 2003 final, India suffered a crushing 125-run defeat at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Sachin's heriocs with the bat couldn't salvage victory for his team, but Rohit Sharma and his team will look to avenge the defeat and rewrite a different chapter in their rivalry. 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. 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. (ANI)
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