Ian Chappell believes that Rohit Sharma‘s “attacking” attitude will be the key to India‘s success in the World Cup final, but warns that David Warner and Australia‘s tailenders may crush the home side’s dream.
Rohit has collected 550 runs for 90 boundaries after facing 443 balls so far in the tournament, with a 124.15 strike-rate.
Despite being well behind superstar Virat Kohli, who has notched up 711 runs in 10 innings, Chappell believes Rohit is “crucial” to steering India to victory.
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“While he’s made significantly less runs than Virat Kohli, there’s an argument that maybe he’s been the player of the tournament,” Chappell said on Wide World of Sports’ Outside the Rope.
“He’s a crucial man for India. If he comes out in the final and does what he did in the semi, which was attack from the outset, that sets the platform for the rest.”
On the other hand, Warner has scored 528 runs, 78 boundaries and faced 491 deliveries with a strike-rate of 107.53.
Chappell is confident that if Warner is on, Australia will record a respectable score.
“One of the crucial guys for me will be David Warner at the top,” Chappell said.
“If Warner gets going, Australia are almost guaranteed a big score. If you can get a big score and you bat first, that’s pretty important.”
But it’s not just Warner who Chappell says Australia relies on, indicating that the tail end, headlined by Mitch Starc and Pat Cummins, run deeper than India.
“With India, they really can’t afford to be going gung-ho right from ball one, because the last four in that Indian line-up are almost gimmicks. Whereas Australia, they got up with Starc and Cummins batting at the end,” he said.
“They can all bat a bit down the line, Starc is quite useful with the bat, Cummins is quite useful with the bat. Both of them can hit.
“Australia can afford to go a bit harder early on, knowing that they haven’t got a tail end who you can just brush aside. Whereas India, you could just brush them aside.”
But Chappell isn’t ruling out the hosts taking out a comprehensive victory, especially if Kohli has anything to do with it.
“That’s where Kohli becomes important for India, because he’ll take his time and build the innings slowly,” he said.
“That’s where Rohit, his attitude comes in. If he attacks and gets away with it, that then allows the other guys to play with a bit more freedom.”
Australia will be looking to win its sixth men’s ODI title, while India is attempting to win its third.