Former Australian cricketer Michael Bevan believes Steven Smith will need to learn from Virat Kohli if Australia are to defeat India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final on Sunday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. (Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
"For Australia to win, Steven Smith has to score big," Bevan remarked at the jersey introduction of the Southern Superstars, the new side joining the Legends League Cricket 2023. He possesses the talents and attitude required to bat through the middle overs. He is quite effective against spinners. If he bats till the 35th or 40th over, Australia will have a great opportunity.
“They have players who can get quick runs at the start and end but are missing the flexibility and rotational ability in the middle overs. Smith has had starts but hasn’t batted long enough. Much like what Kohli has done for India, if Smith can do for Australia in the final, their chances of winning increases dramatically,” added the 53-year-old, who will be the coach of Superstars.
In his preview of the final, the former left-handed batter felt India are the clear favourite and may duplicate Australia's great run in the 2003 and 2007 editions when it went undefeated.
“I think India is the favourite to win at this point and there is no reason to think why it wouldn’t happen. No team has given them a run for their money in the World Cup.
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“Very few teams have produced enough pressure on India to get them to the point where they might lose the match. They have been completely dominant, similar to what we were in the 2003 World Cup and in 1999 when we won seven matches in a row. India appears to be on track to do that,” commented Bevan.
Virat Kohli is leading the top-scorers list with 711 runs, which is the highest for any batter in the ICC events. Whereas, Steven Smith has got just 298 runs in the tournament. Smith has been struggling to perform what is expected from him. He has got a good start in most games but was unable to convert them like Kohli did.
Bevan also believed that Australia had yet to perform successfully as a team. "They're keeping the matches close and on the verge of exploding. Every match, they have had two or three outstanding players. Meanwhile, India has had four, five, or six amazing players in every game, and that is the difference."
