India vs Australia: Want to win the World Cup for Rahul Dravid, says Rohit Sharma ahead of final in Ahmedabad

India captain Rohit Sharma has said the team wants to win the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for head coach Rahul Dravid. India is all set to take on 5-time champions Australia in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.

ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023: Full Coverage

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Rohit said Dravid has played a massive role in providing clarity to players. India is enjoying a 10-match winning streak in the 2023 World Cup and will be aiming to lift the coveted title for the third time in their history.

“His role has been absolutely massive, getting that clarity, which I keep talking about. There’s one thing for me to think about and the other thing if the coach to not agree to certain things. You know looking at how Rahul bhai has played his cricket and how I’m playing these days. Obviously, it’s got quite contrasting. For him to give us that liberty to go and play the way we want to play, says a lot about him,” said Rohit.

He went on to say that Dravid wants to be a part of this big occasion and it’s up to the team to win the title for him. Dravid was part of the Indian team that lost the 2003 World Cup final against Australia.

“The way he stood by the players in difficult times especially during the T20 World Cup, where we had a good run up until that semifinal, where we lost. How he reacted to certain situations and informing the players was helpful. He wants to be part of this big occasion, and it’s for us to do it for him,” Rohit added.

This will be India’s fourth ODI World Cup final, while the Aussies will take the field in their record-extending eight ODI World Cup final.

The Men in Blue topped the league table winning all nine of their matches, before defeating New Zealand by 70 runs in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

As for Australia, they finished third in the group stage, winning seven and losing two games. After going down against India and South Africa, Australia went on a seven-match winning run in the league stage, before defeating South Africa by three wickets in the second semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.