We now know that the two teams clashing at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG) on the March 29th will be the co-hosts Australia & New Zealand.
This would be the first time New Zeland will appear in a World Cup Finals. A momentous day in their cricketing history for sure. They have played outstandingly well right throughout this World Cup & thoroughly deserve to be in the finals. Some people can say the rain came and stopped South Africa's momentum in the Semi-Finals against the Kiwis but that's how cricket is and we must give credit to Corey Anderson & Grant Elliot for pulling off the chase in front of an electrifying crowd at Auckland backing them all the way.
And the Kiwis face their neighbors & Co-Hosts Australia in the finals. Australia are no strangers to reaching this stage of a big tournament like the World Cup. After all, they are four time world champions. Their passage to the finals was less dramatic compared to the New Zelanders.
With millions of Indian fans hoping for them to beat Australia in the Semifinals, the Indian team were in some ways responsible for their loss. Ineffective bowling from their bowlers especially at the depth overs & some reckless & irresponsible batting from their batters coupled with a professional performance from the Australians caused them to exit the tournament at the Semifinals. But Indian fans should be happy with the team played in this World Cup but getting past Australia was not going to be an easy task and that proved to be right.
Coming to the finals, it would be the last game for Australia's skipper Michael Clarke as he has announced his retirement post this World-Cup finals. He has been battling constant injuries in the past few years and that would have made him to call it a day from ODI's and focus on leading the Test team in the future. His poise, elegance & grace would definetly be missed by cricket fans. He is among the best players of spin in the world currently, but with Steve Smith's outstanding rise as a batsman in the recent times the Australian team will be in safe hands post Clarke's retirement.
He is a real team man & a humble captain loved& respected by his teammates. And he definitely would want to go out on a high come tomorrow.
And the World of cricket was in mourning over the shock demise of Philip Hughes. A team mate Clarke called his young brother, he & the whole of the Australian team would want to win this World Cup for their mate Philip Hughes.
Below is the speech the skipper of Australia delivered on the eulogy of Philip Hughes.
For the Kiwis playing their first World Cup final, it would be a huge day for their fans & players alike. They have gone from being the under dogs at the start of the tournament to having an equal chance to win the World Cup. Kudos to this team for the way they have played.
For them veteran spinner Daniel Vettori retires post the end of this World Cup. A legend of the game Daniel Vettori's off spin has played a very important factor for the Kiwis to reach this far. He has been very tough to negoitate for the batsmen and he has taken 15 wickets already this tournament.
Here's a glimpse of Daniel Vettori's fine off spin bowling:
To sum it up, both teams will have their reasons for winning this big game which is expected a high voltage encounter where emotions will be high and there would be big pressure on both teams. One can'not call this game that easily as both look equally good but since the Kiwis have played all their games at home and will play the finals at the MCG it will be a challenge for them to adjust to the bounce in the pitch and the size of the boundaries will be much bigger than the ones seen in New Zeland grounds.
But as a Cricket fan one hopes this would be an amazing game of Cricket, and it should be a close contest which would should keep audiences engaged right till the end. Its a World cup Final after all & lets hope this game lives up to it's expectation!!!
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