With the world's largest cricket stadium underneath packed to the brim by euphoric fans, the Surya Kiran Acrobatic Team of the Indian Air Force put up a spectacular show before the World Cup final between India and Australia on Sunday. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
A total of nine Hawk Mk-132 SKAT aircrafts of the IAF created history as it is for the first time that they produced an aerial show ahead of any cricket match in India and it is only fitting that their maiden show took place before a World Cup final.
The Surya Kiran team pilots, a part of the 52nd Squadron of the Indian Air Force, produced a 10-minute show before the toss at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 1,30,000.
Usually composed of 13 pilots, the 'ambassador of Indian Air Force' SKAT team has only nine of them performing at any given time in their Hawk advanced trainer jets.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19. India are playing the same XI as their previous game against Kiwis whereas the Australians are fielding the same team.
The toss plays a key role in the final with the pitch conditions being a major factor. However, in the last 12 World Cups, team that has won the toss has gone to win four times and teams that have lost the toss, have won 8 times. Most notably, India's success in the 1983 and 2011 saw them lose the toss in the two World Cup finals which they went onto win.
Speaking at the toss, Cummins said, "We are gonna have a bowl first. Looks like a dry wicket. Dew is a factor. It gets better to bat on. Tough start to the tournament, haven't really put a foot wrong ever since. It's all set up perfectly. We've played these guys a lot. Same team as the semi-final."
Rohit too said he would have batted first if they had won the toss. "I would have batted first. Looks a good pitch, big game, put runs on the board. It's going to be amazing, everytime we play here,the crowd come out in large numbers. The biggest occasion in the cricketing event. We have to stay nice and calm. It's a dream come true to be captaining the team in the final. I know what lies in front of us. We need to play well and get the result."
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
