India and Australia are set to face off in the ICC World Cup 2023 final on November 19, Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricketing venue, will witness this encounter, commencing at 2:00 PM IST. It's the last chance for fantasy cricket players to get their team combinations spot on in this edition of the competition, with players from both teams on top of their game at the moment. The Indian cricket team is on a 10-game winning streak, which includes a clean sweep in the nine league phase matches alongside their 70-run win against New Zealand in the semi-final.
Meanwhile, Australia managed to strike back after setbacks in the opening two matches of the competition against India and South Africa. Since then, they won every match to make it to the semis where they defeated the Proteas by three wickets.
As far as head-to-head match-ups in ODIs are concerned, the two teams have faced each other on 150 occasions, with Australia emerging victorious in 83 matches. The current world no. 1 ODI side won on 57 instances whereas 10 fixtures concluded with no result.
IND vs AUS fantasy XI World Cup 2023 final
Wicket-keepers: KL Rahul
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Travis Head, David Warner
All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mitchell Starc
We will go ahead with a 7:4 combination, with the majority of the hosts' players expected to yield maximum points.
Among the wicket-keepers, KL Rahul will be the go-to choice, having proved his worth with his batting and glove work throughout the tournament. The 31-year-old has scored 386 runs in nine innings at a superb average of 77.20, alongside 15 catches and one stumping while wicket-keeping.
Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Travis Head and David Warner will be our five batters, each of whom is in stellar form.
The Indian captain's aggressive approach in the powerplay has often put the opposition bowling unit on the backfoot. His ability to score boundaries at will makes him an undisputed pick in this side.
Middle-order batters Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer have been in terrific form with the willow. While Kohli has registered three tons and five half-centuries so far, Shreyas Iyer has recorded two centuries and half-centuries apiece. Both players will be expected to score big against the Aussies in the summit clash.
Australian openers Travis Head and David Warner will make it to the squad ahead of Shubman Gill. David Warner, who is his team's leading run-getter in the ongoing competition with 528 runs, is a straight-forward pick.
Travis Head gets the nod ahead of Shubman Gill courtesy of his all-round abilities as he can bowl in the middle overs and get crucial breakthroughs for his side.
Glenn Maxwell (398 runs and five wickets) & Ravindra Jadeja (111 runs and 16 wickets) have justified their selection among the all-rounders. Both players have demonstrated what they are capable of and it can prove to be a costly error to leave them out of your fantasy XI.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mitchell Starc will complete our fantasy team. Bumrah and Shami have rattled the opposition batting units time and again in the ICC World Cup 2023, combining for 41 wickets between them.
Southpaw Mitchell Starc is preferred over Josh Hazlewood for his ability to generate swing early on, something that has troubled the Indian batters in the past.
Captain: Virat Kohli
Given the breathtaking form he is in, it would be tough to ignore Virat Kohli for the captaincy armband. The right-handed batter has been consistently among the runs, racking up 711 runs in 10 matches and is destined to conclude the tournament on the top of the scoring chart.
Vice-captain: Mohammad Shami
It would be a challenging choice between Mohammad Shami and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the vice-captain position. Nonetheless, one can back Shami to continue his wicket-taking spree with a few more scalps against the Aussies.
Moreover, he has taken 38 wickets in 24 matches versus Australia in his ODI career, which is the highest among the oppositions he has featured against.