Will Ravichandran Ashwin play in India vs Australia World Cup final? Whom will Rohit Sharma drop - Siraj or Suryakumar?
World Cup final on November 19. Since Hardik Pandya’s injury in the Bangladesh match a month back, India have played with the same team, with Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami in and Pandya and Shardul Thakur out. At the Narendra Modi Stadium, the final will be on the same pitch where Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets each against Pakistan.
The pitch is expected to be slow, favouring Ashwin - arguably India’s best off-spinner ever in ODIs with over 150 wickets. Spinners have been more economical than pacers in the four World Cup matches at this venue. Also, Ashwin could be effective against Australia's top order, especially left-handers like David Warner and Travis Head, who struggle against spin.
India might use Ashwin against them in the first 10 overs. In that case, India will be left with just 2 pacers, which could be risky since Hardik Pandya is not a part of the team. India do not really have a stable option for the sixth bowler.
Siraj has been bowling with impressive pace in this tournament. He has taken 13 wickets so far. He recently lost his place as the number 1 ODI bowler in the ICC rankings.
It will be difficult to drop Siraj. Suryakumar Yadav, arguably India’s best T20 batter, has scored just 88 runs in the 6 matches played in the ICC World Cup 2023. It’s not entirely his fault.
On more occasions than one, he had a few balls to face when he came to bat. But, as a number 6 batter, he is supposed to deliver in such scenarios. He scored 2 off 4 balls against New Zealand, 49 off 47 against England, 12 off 9 against Sri Lanka, 22 off 14 against South Africa, 2 off 1 against the Netherlands and 1 off 2 in the semi-final.
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