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All you need to know about the Cricket World Cup Final

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This year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has been a six-week thriller that’s kept cricket fans around the world constantly on edge. But it’s not over yet – there’s still one match to be played – the match that will crown this year’s winner.

With just one day to go before India and Australia meet at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, in front of an expected 100,000 fans, here’s everything you need to know ahead of the final.

How they got to the final

India cruised through the group stage, finishing top on a maximum 18 points having won all nine of their matches. India’s net run rate of 2.570 was far and away the best in the group stage.

In the semi-final against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma led a blazing start with the bat, rocketing with fellow opener Shubman Gill, before Virat Kohli cruised to his 50th ODI century, passing Sachin Tendulkar. Posting an imperious 397, New Zealand showed some respite largely through a century from Daryl Mitchell, only to fall 70 runs short.

Australia meanwhile bounced back from defeats to India and South Africa in their opening matches, and sitting in last place on the table, before going on to win the remaining seven matches, and qualify with 14 points.

Pat Cummins’ side were slight underdogs in their re-match with South Africa come semi-final time, though the Aussies made an emphatic start, holding South Africa to 24/4. David Miller’s century gave the Proteas hope, though it was Cummins and Mitchell Starc who would wield their bats aloft in victory, holding on in a tense three-wicket win.

The Squads

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.

Weather

Should the weather pose a problem on Sunday, there is a reserve day in place. But so far, sunny weather is expected with the temperature expected to be around 33°C.

Prize Money

The tournament has a $10 million pot and the winner of the tournament will take home $4 million, with the runners-up winning $2 million.

Teams also collected $40,000 for every group stage win.

Stadium

Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is the largest sports stadium in the world and will host the final. It also hosted the tournament opener on October 5. The stadium has a total capacity of 132,000 people.

The final starts at 1pm Kabul time and the coin toss will take place half an hour earlier.

Previous wins

Australia and India have faced off 13 times at an ODI World Cup, with the Aussies winning eight times and India with five victories to their name.

Australia also holds an advantage across the 150 ODI matches the two nations have played with 83 wins to India’s 57.

Road to the Final

India won nine matches, lost none and has a Net Run Rate of +2.570. India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the semi finals.

Australia meanwhile won seven group stage matches, lost two, and has a Net Run Rate: +0.841. Australia defeated South Africa by three wickets in the semi finals.

For the Fans

Having brought this year’s thrilling World Cup ODI tournament into the homes of millions of Afghans, Ariana Television Network (ATN) will once again deliver Sunday’s match.

With exclusive broadcasting rights for Afghanistan ATN will broadcast the final live, from 12.30 Sunday, on Ariana Television, Ariana News and Ariana FM 93.5.

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FIFA OKs creation of Afghanistan women’s refugee team

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FIFA has approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team that will compete in matches overseen by the world governing body.

According to FIFA, the team — composed of female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee status abroad — would first operate under a one-year pilot phase, which will help the organization determine the long-term viability of the program, Reuters reported.

The FIFA Council must approve the team’s establishment. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, called the approval a “landmark” moment, adding that “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”

FIFA regulations require teams to receive recognition by a national federation in order to compete. The Afghan Football Federation, however, has not acknowledged its women’s teams, in fact banning all women’s sports across the country.

Afghanistan has not had a women’s side compete in an official match since 2018.

 

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India suspends Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament

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India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.

Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.

The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in Kashmir last month.

New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.

India’s army said Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.

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IPL 2025: Dharamsala match abandoned due to security concerns

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Thursday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off mid-way through due to security reasons.

This was after the floodlights at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala were switched off and spectators asked to evacuate the stadium.

According to IANS, Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, based on the red alert issued in Jammu.

Indian media reported the match was called off following air raid alerts in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town.

The Punjab side was 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out which at first was attributed to floodlight failure. But later the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.

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