A match for the ages

As an epic rivalry plays out, on the biggest stage there is, will an unchecked, unbeaten India storm past the swagger? It has been a long, hard road to this moment of pride: odds-on favourites against the mighty Australia

- Somshuvra Laha

Twenty years on, the gnawing anxiety has not eased. India and Australia are in a World Cup final. Good for the game; not so great for the nerves.

No 1 going toe-to-toe with No 2 is what finals ought to be; a celebration of diversity in skills and uniformity of ambition. But for the average Indian fan, it will mean hours of stewing in nervous anticipation, second-guessing everything related and unrelated to cricket, wondering if this is how it's all going to end.

What was that about beating the best to be the best? India have already done it twice, why not a third time? Well, this is Australia, a different beast in a World Cup final, going back decades.

Yes, India are playing their best cricket, possibly ever. As they were in 2003. Back then, unlike now, Australia had pummelled India in the league phase.

Here, India's string of 10 on the trot isn't just wins packed together. It is a streak symbolic of everything India have done right, against every team at this level, on nine different pitches.

Still, it may count for nothing more than a fond sidebar. Which is why Sunday's pregame jitters will be intense.

Will India defend or chase? How will Rohit Sharma bat? What if he fails? And then Kohli too? How will Shreyas Iyer play those bouncers? Will Bumrah do what he wants to do? Can Shami be as effective again? The more one thinks, the more one dreads. The more one dreads, the more one frets.