A bustling, festive and chaotic Ahmedabad is all set to host the final of the ICC World Cup as a high-flying India takes on five-time champions Australia in an epic clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. 

"I am a huge fan of Virat ... and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin," Richards wrote in his column for the International Cricket Council.

The Narendra Modi Stadium--world’s largest stadium--is gearing up for the grand finale of the ICC Cricket World Cup on Saturday and with that in mind, the ICC has planned a closing ceremony to bring the curtains down on the 2023 edition of the quadrennial mega event.

Moreover, the board is unsure of the future plans of Shakib and Tamim.

Not a single seat in the 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium is likely to stay unoccupied when five-time champions Australia clash with an India side who are unbeaten in the tournament.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 finale between India and Australia on Sunday will feature performances by Dua Lipa and an aerial show by the Indian Air Force.

"The team has done really well and if you win a World Cup that's a real feather in your cap as a leader," Steve Waugh told News Ltd media on Friday.

All of a sudden, all the focus turned to the type of pitch that is going to be used for the all-important World Cup 2023 final between hosts India and five-time World Champions Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Australia head into their World Cup decider against India with all pieces in place following a devastating return to form of their vaunted pace attack in the South Africa semi-final.

Long before Mohammed Shami became the pivotal player in India's impressive journey to the final of the ongoing World Cup, the pacer was sharing his early struggles with Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and a few reporters over a friendly chat at the team hotel during the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England.

India and Australia have faced off in some of the most engaging contests in recent times and a new chapter to their rivalry will be added when they contest 50-over cricket’s ultimate glory in Sunday’s World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

The English duo of Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpires for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.

Long-simmering rivalries on and off the pitch divided India and Pakistan once more at the World Cup, but a cricket show run by Pakistani greats of the game has won fans across the border.

South Africa will co-host the next 50-over finals with Namibia and Zimbabwe in 2027 and Walter believes there is much room for optimism they can improve further having arrived in India under the radar and with little expectation of success.

New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell has rejected criticism of the Black Caps for coming to the aid of India's Virat Kohli during Wednesday's World Cup semi-final loss, saying the team took great pride in the way they went about the game.

Australia edged out South Africa by three wickets in a tense chase of 213 in Kolkata on Thursday to make their eighth World Cup final.

New Zealand are confident they have the foundations in place to continue to compete with the elite at the World Cup even if they could be without Kane Williamson and a few other generational talents when the next edition comes around.

Having a bowling average of 15.71 in World Cups, the best among all bowlers with at least 20 wickets in the showpiece event, should be enough to guarantee a player a place in the teamsheet in every match.

South Africa could not cross the semi-final stage in the World Cup once again, falling to a heart-breaking three-wicket loss to Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, just like their previous four semi-final outings in the World Cup.

It was inevitable. More than it being a question of if, it was rather a debate over how and when.