It’s final countdown

Ahmedabad: An Indian captain ready to create a legacy of his own will have 10 ruthless professionals and a billion cricket maniacs for support when his team takes on five-time champions Australia in a winner-takes-it-all World Cup final on what promises to be a 'Super Sunday'. Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin know the feeling of winning the ODI World Cup and Rohit Sharma himself was in the thick of things at the 'Bull Ring' in Johannesburg when India won their maiden T20 World Cup in 2007. But the final on Sunday will be completely different. It won't just be a mere cricket tournament that needs to be won but also caring about the emotions of all those invested in the game.

Rohit and his mates have time and again said that they don't care about the outside noise but it is this outside noise that has made the game and this team relevant. All the stakeholders -- the fans, who treat these players as 'Demi Gods', the broadcasters who spend a bomb to buy Indian cricket telecast rights and the sponsors, who support the game -- all want the game to thrive and survive.

When Kapil Dev's toothy grin at the Lord's balcony melted fans' hearts in 1983, it was the beginning and no one knew which direction the road ahead will lead us to.

When Dhoni hit that winning six in 2011 World Cup final, it was more about a final reiteration that the ‘Mecca of Cricket' has shifted long back and everyone needed to take a bow and accept Indian domination. Circa 2023, Indian cricket team will not just be looking to win a third ODI global title but also look at saving the '50-over format' which has been battling identity crisis for at least five years now. An Indian victory will give the format the injection it needs. Australia is the only team to have achieved title triumph with 11 wins in a row -- in 2003 and 2007 -- and Rohit indeed has a date with history since if the team gets the win on Sunday, it will only be the second side ever side to do so.