Australia has won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the Cricket World Cup final played at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
For the match at the largest cricket stadium in the world, both sides are unchanged as Australia competes for a sixth championship in the eighth final.
India won the World Cup twice: once at home in 1983 and once more in 2011.
India, led by Rohit Sharma, have won all ten of their tournament matches and are keeping the winning lineup from their Wednesday, 70-run victory over New Zealand in the semi-finals in Mumbai.
If he had won the toss, Rohit claimed he would have chosen to bat first.
“I’d have batted first, it looks a good pitch, it’s a big game, let’s put runs on the board,” said Rohit as the crowd roared.
“It’s going to be amazing. The biggest occasion in terms of cricket events. We have to stay calm and get the job done.”
The hosts hope to win their first world championship since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.
fiery red Following his historic 50th ODI century in the semifinals, where he eclipsed fellow countryman Sachin Tendulkar’s 49 tonnes, Virat Kohli tops the tournament batting chart with 711 runs.
Mohammed Shami, a fast bowler, leads the bowling list with 23 wickets in six games.
The same squad that defeated South Africa by three wickets in a suspenseful semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday was named by Cummins.
They started the group stage with losses to South Africa by 134 runs and India by six wickets before going on an eight-game winning streak.
“Looks like a bit of a dry wicket and we wanted to bowl first. Dew is one factor and it’s quite dewy in the night at this venue,” said Cummins.
“Been really proud of the group. Tough start to the tournament but they haven’t put a foot wrong since.”
Australia hammered India in the 2003 World Cup final in Johannesburg.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (capt), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
