Day of destiny for India in World Cup final against Australia
World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
A showpiece match at the 130,000 capacity Narendra Modi Stadium — named after the Indian Prime Minister, who is expected to attend the game — will also feature a pre-match fly-past by the Indian Air Force as well as choreographed displays featuring dozens of dancers and light shows during the innings breaks.
Everything promises to be on a suitably grand scale given India is the economic powerhouse of the game.
But the cricket too could well live up to the occasion.
Unbeaten hosts India have won 10 games in a row on their way to the finish of the tournament as they seek a third World Cup title to follow their stunning victory over the West Indies in a 1983 final at Lord's and a 2011 home triumph sealed with victory against Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Virat Kohli goes into the game as the tournament's leading batsman with 711 runs and having set a new record of 50 ODI hundreds in a 70-run semi-final win over New Zealand in Mumbai.
That innings saw the star batsman break the mark of 49 ODI centuries he had shared with retired India great Sachin Tendulkar — a childhood hero of Kohli before the duo both featured in India's victorious 2011 side.
Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, tops the tournament bowling charts with 23 wickets at just 9.13 apiece, despite being left out of the side for the first four games before an injury to Hardik Pandya paved the way for the paceman's dramatic return.
So much pressure
Yet for all India's unrivalled financial muscle and wealth of playing talent, it is 10 years since they last won a major international tournament — the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Doubts still linger about whether a talented India team can stand up the strains of a final against a hardened Australia side
