World Cup final: Can India defend a below-par 240 on this wicket?

When Australian captain Pat Cummins sent India in for batting after winning the toss, many wondered the wisdom of the decision. It seemed a calculated gamble which worked as the pace trio stuck to a plan to rein in the powerful Indian batting line-up to a modest 240 all out for a change.

While it looks a below par score on the face of it, the Australian batting line-up need to show a great deal of discipline as the wicket chosen at the Narendra Modi Stadium is not really easy to bat on. History shows that teams batting first in the finals of 50-over World Cups have won eight of the 12 finals so far.

It was one of those rare days when the Indian openers could not get the desired start in powerplay with Shubman Gill playing the accurate Mitchell Starc across the line. Captain Rohit Sharma looked unfazed as he went in for three towering sixes in his innings of 47 off 31 balls, but fell in trying to punish the Glenn Maxwell.

Virat Kohli (54 off 63 balls), as so often in the tournament, tried to play the troubleshooter with KL Rahul (66 off 107 balls), but got ultra defensive in the face of the pace attack as well as Adam Zampa. All is not over yet and a lot depends on the kind of start openers David Warner and Travis Head can give them in the first 10 overs.