ODI World Cup 2023

‘Bat me spring nahi lagaana’ – Fans react as Steve Smith wishes to play India in ODI World Cup 2023 final

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final of ODI World Cup 2023.

Jun 28, 2023 3:57 pm

The schedule for the ODI World Cup 2023 is out. The world’s biggest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, is set to host the final of the tournament. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 1,32,000 spectators, is set to host a total of five games in the world cup later this year, including the big final. Australia will play England at the same venue in the league stage of the tournament.

Talking about the schedule, Australia’s chances in the tournament, and an opportunity to play the finals in the world’s largest cricket stadium, the Australian star batter expressed his wish to play the big match against the home team at the venue. “It’ll be great to play the 2023 World Cup Final against India at packed Ahmedabad Stadium; the atmosphere will be electrifying,” said the middle-order batter.

Australia has won a lot of tournaments in recent years. In 2015, the men in yellow won the 50-over World Cup and extended their record of ODI world cup titles to five. In 2021, the Aaron Finch-led men won their maiden title in T20 World Cup. Earlier this month, the Kangaroos won the finals of the World Test Championship 2023 and became the first team to win all of the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, and World Test Championship titles.

Steve Smith’s role in the big tournaments for Australia

Smith played a key role in Australia’s campaign in the 2015 ODI World Cup and the recently concluded World Test Championship finals. The unorthodox batter scored 402 runs in 7 innings at an impressive average of 67.00, at a healthy strike rate of 91.57, including a hundred and four fifties. Steve scored a match-winning 105(93) against India in the semifinals and followed it up with an unbeaten 56(71) against New Zealand in the finals of the tournament.

The world number 6 batter was instrumental in Australia’s World Test Championship campaign in the 2021-23 cycle as he scored 1407 runs in 32 innings at an average of 52.11, including 4 hundred. In the finals of the cycle, Steve scored 121(268) in the first innings and 34(47) in the second innings against India and helped Australia to win the test.

Here’s how Twitter users reacted to Steve Smith’s wish –