The 2 chinks in Australia's armour that Rohit would aim to exploit in WC final: A SWOT analysis of five-time champs

As Australia gear up for their toughest test to reclaim the World Cup trophy after 8 years, we take a look at their strengths and the weaknesses.

In Australia, India have found a rightful opponent for the 2023 World Cup final. No two teams share so much history and intense rivalry in this tournament as India and Australia who will be playing for the 14th time in World Cup on Sunday in Ahmedabad. But that is not what makes Pat Cummins and Co., the appropriate challenger for the fearless Indian side. Although they have did stutter at the start of the tournament, which included losing to the home team, the Aussies bounced back superbly winning eight matches in a row to make the final with some stunning all-round performances and individual brilliance. As the side gear up for their toughest test to reclaim the World Cup trophy after eight years and the record-extending sixth time, we take a look at the strengths they can count on against India and the weaknesses they should be wary of.

Australia's Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and teammates during a practice session ahead of the semi-final match against South Africa in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata (Bibash Lodh)

STRENGTHS -

New-ball attack: The only time the Indian batting line-up genuinely found themselves in a concerning position was in their opening campaign when Josh Hazelwood dismissed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer all for a duck each. India eventually recovered and later, amid an array of stellar shows, the fear vanished into oblivion. Australia, meanwhile, struggled with the new ball in their next three matches going wicketless for 163 runs without creating any real danger. But the likes of Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc bounced back to pick 10 wickets in their next six games with an economy rate of below 5. Hazlewood has been the most economical new-ball bowlers in the competition, conceding at less than four runs as over with seven wickets while Starc has picked up five wickets at an economy rate of 4.97.

In-form openers: Australia moved on from their left-right combination in Mitchell Marsh and David Warner to two lefties as openers in the latter and Travis Head. The pair stitched a match-winning stand of 175 runs in the first game as a pair against New Zealand before they put on some individual performances, the most notable being Head's aggressive 62 in win against South Africa in the semis.

The Zampa factor: In Australia's only two losses, in the first two games of the tournament, Zampa had conceded 123 runs in 18 overs across the two matches for just a solitary wicket. Zampa, who was picked as the sole specialist spinner for the campaign amid some part-timers, lacked confidence at the start of the tournament but bounced back impressively to pick back-to-back four-wicket hauls. As the Aussie pacers struggled with the new ball in the opening half of the competition, it was Zampa who pulled things back for the team through the middle overs where he struck 18 times, the most during the phase among any bowlers in this World Cup. Overall, he picked 22 wickets in 10 matches, one short of tournament-leader Mohammed Shami.

WEAKNESSES -

Bowling depth: If it has been five effective bowlers for India, Australia have only four specialist options at their disposal. Once Zampa, Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins are done with their quota of overs, the skipper will have to look for secondary options with Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green being the options, but none have collectively or individually clicked yet. In fact, they have managed only half as many as wickets Zampa has picked in this tournament at almost double the average.

Batters susceptible against spin: Australia had struggled against India when they had faced them at the start of their campaign with Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin tearing through the line-up before folding them for just 199 runs. And vulnerability was evident yet again on Thursday when South African spinners spun a web around the Aussie batters on a used Eden Gardens wicket, finishing collectively with 4 for 89 from 28 overs and almost costing them a place in the final.

On Sunday, Australia will once again be up against the likes of Jadeja and Kuldeep, and probably even Ashwin, and for the five-time world champions to have any chance of winning the title again, they’ll need to figure out a way to negate the threat.