Google Draws Similarities Between World Cup Finals 2023 and 2003, Spotlighting Kohli and Tendulkar

On Sunday, Google India shared a list of trivia pointing out similarities between the cricket World Cup finals in 2003 and 2023, both being played between India and Australia.

In the context of batting leadership at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the note from Google India highlighted the similarity between Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma in 2023 and the duo of Sachin Tendulkar and then-captain Sourav Ganguly in 2003.

Furthermore, the note highlighted that Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar were the top run-scorers in their respective finals, and interestingly, both Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly assumed the captaincy for the first time in leading the World Cup squad, with a 20-year gap between the occurrences in 2023 and 2003.

See the post here:

The note additionally highlighted that for both World Cups, a "Rahul" served as the wicketkeeper. Rahul Dravid assumed the wicketkeeper's role in 2003, while KL Rahul has taken up the position for the World Cup in 2023.

In 2003, Australia appeared to hold an advantage, remaining undefeated in all group-stage matches. Similarly, this year, India enjoys the same advantageous position.

Australia's captain, Pat Cummins, won the toss and chose to field against India in the final of the 50-overs World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Two-time champions India have displayed excellent form, winning all 10 games to reach the final against the five-time winner, Australia, in the world's largest cricket stadium.

Both teams maintained the same set of 11 players who played pivotal roles in their respective semi-final victories.

"Dew is one factor, and it's quite dewy in the night at this venue," explained Cummins regarding his decision. 

"I'm really proud of the group. Tough start to the tournament, but they haven't put a foot wrong since."

Home captain Rohit Sharma expressed that he would have preferred to bat first in any case.

"I would've batted first, big game and runs on the board," the opener said. "It's the biggest occasion, in terms of cricketing events. We got to stay nice and calm... It's a dream come true to captain the team in the final."