Hosts India are taking on Australia in the World Cup final on Sunday
The match will be played in Ahmedabad city at the Narendra Modi stadium, the world’s largest cricket venue
India beat New Zealand by 70 runs in Wednesday's semi-final; Australia defeated South Africa by three wickets in a tense game on Thursday
India have been in top form, winning all the 10 games they’ve played so far
Australia started off slow, but came into form as the tournament progressed
Australia are seeking the crown for the sixth time; India have won the trophy twice before
Matthew Henry
Reporting from Ahmedabad
I can confirm that that there will be at least one Australian fan in the stadium today.
We spotted this lonely fan on his way to the stadium. He will surely stand out in a sea of blue.
Try to spot him on TV if you are watching from home!
TV cameras will have plenty to focus on at the match.
Bollywood star couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were spotted wearing India jerseys as they caught a flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
Another star, Anushka Sharma - Virat Kohli's wife - is also in the city. She's also attended other key India matches - she was in the stands in Mumbai watching the semi-finals against New Zealand and Kohli had blown a kiss to her after scoring his record 50th ODI century.
Bollywood stars on their way to the stadium
Matthew Hayden, a two-time World Cup winner with Australia in 2003 and 2007, believes India will win the World Cup.
“I believe India will win the World Cup and that's because they have the weight of 1.3 billion people behind them. They are playing great cricket. They are playing great cricket under pressure. They are playing cricket where they are very together,” Hayden told an ICC podcast.
Former captain Ian Chappell echoes the sentiment.
“I expect India to perform at their best and Australia to falter slightly, producing a narrow home victory that will set off yet another wild round of celebrations,” Chappell writes in ESPNcricinfo.
Writing in Australia's The Age newspaper, sports writer Robert Craddock suggests stopping Kohli could be one way for the visitors to win the final. He has some other suggestions too:
The suggestions are spot on but will they be enough to stop India's dream run? Just a few hours to go before we find out!
The place is getting packed!
Massive crowd outside the stadium
Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Delhi
Image source, Getty ImagesRahul Dravid is India's head coach
Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has been the driving force behind the team's dream run in the World Cup.
Now just one hurdle stands between this cricketing legend and an ambition that remained painfully out of his grasp as a player.
He would be desperate to hold the trophy, but he has not shown any signs of eagerness ahead of the match, and it's unlikely there'll be any after it's over either.
But that's just vintage Rahul Dravid, who likes to get on with the job quietly.
Read more about the legend and his coaching career here
Indian stars Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli looked cheerful as the team boarded a bus that would take them to the stadium. With less than two hours to go, the start is getting nearer!
Indian cricket team leaves for the stadium
The Narendra Modi stadium is likely to be a sea of blue like earlier India matches.
But instead of feeling under pressure, Australian captain Pat Cummins is looking forward to the challenge.
"I think you've got to embrace it. The crowd's obviously going to be very one-sided, but in sport there's nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that's the aim for us tomorrow," he said ahead of the match on Saturday.
Cherylann Mollan
Reporting from Mumbai
Retired Mumbai dentist Steve Yi, who watched India lift the cup in 1983 and 2011, is hoping the team will be third-time lucky.
In 1983, he was 23 when he watched India beat West Indies. A couple of neighbours and friends had come over to his home to watch the match as TV sets were a novelty. “We had a 20in(50cm) TV and the match was screened on the one channel available – Doordarshan,” he says. During the match, he remembers running up to the terrace to adjust the TV antenna whenever the wind blew it astray.
“India had chosen to bat first and had made a very poor score. We were all dejected and were sure we’d lose. But then, Mohinder Amarnath, this languid slow bowler, took a couple of wickets and things started looking up. We were jubilant when India won, because it seemed almost impossible,” says Dr Yi.
The next time India won was nearly three decades later and Dr Yi was 51. He checked the score on a flat-screen TV in his office in between appointments with patients. “There were celebrations everywhere, we had waited a long time for a win,” he says.
Now 63, Dr Yi has invited some friends home to watch the match together on his 55in (139cm) HDTV. This is the strongest the Indian team has ever been, he says, adding that he’s confident of a win.
India has lifted the coveted trophy twice.
The first time was in 1983 when Kapil Dev's team achieved what seemed impossible by beating the mighty West Indies.
Image source, Getty ImagesIndian captain Kapil Dev (left) with Man of the Match Mohinder Amarnath after their team beat West Indies at Lords
The whole country burst out in celebrations and the team later met then prime minister Indira Gandhi who posed for a team photo holding the Cup.
Image source, Getty ImagesIn 2011, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led his team to a second World Cup victory in Mumbai. (You can also spot a young Virat Kohli, fifth from right!)
Image source, Getty ImagesAustralian papers have lauded India's dream run this World Cup and say the stakes are higher for the home team.
Australia are in the final after winning the World Test Championship and an away Ashes series against England, rounding out a successful year, Geoff Lemon writes in Guardian Australia, external. "An upset would not make this Australia’s best World Cup team, but it would be their best World Cup win," he says.
In The Sydney Morning Herald, external, Daniel Brettig has written of "a plot to break a billion hearts".
"It was a timid Australia who allowed their innings to be sapped of all momentum under the hot Chennai sun in their opening game over a month ago," he says. "Timid is not going to get it done against India, and Australian captain Pat Cummins knows it."
In The Australian, external, Robert Craddock says the team will need to find a way to stop Kohli and throw India’s entire bowling plan "out of kilter".
"Australia must accept that caution and respect might ultimately be the best tactic against the world’s most underrated bowler, swingman Mohammed Shami," he writes.
Nitin Srivastava
Reporting from Ahmedabad
Ajay Kumar, who is selling Indian flags outside the stadium, says he has sold more than 175 of them in the last two hours. The going rate for one is 150 rupees ($1.80; £1.45).
And no worries if his stock runs out - he has 500 more at him home which is nearby.
Nitin Srivastava
Reporting from Ahmedabad
Thousands of fans have already reached the stadium and almost everyone I can spot is wearing the Indian jersey. Barely an Australia fan to be seen at the moment.
Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Delhi
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Indian captain has truly shown what it means to lead from the front. He has attacked opposition bowlers right from the start in almost every match. His ruthless onslaughts have ensured that even quality opposition bowlers didn’t get time to settle in. Rohit - along with Shubman Gill - has been able to give a stable platform to the middle order to take their time and score big. And he has been selfless while doing that.
For example, take the semi-final against New Zealand - he was looking well-settled at 47 but the team needed him to continue striking hard and he lost his wicket while trying to do that.
He could have easily slowed down to score a 50 or even higher but then Rohit has kept the team’s needs ahead of personal milestones. India will be looking at their captain to deliver one more time in this tournament.
Australia have won the crown five times so far. First in 1987...
Image source, Getty ImagesAustralian captain Allan Border (sitting third from left) with the rest of his team after they defeated England in Calcutta, India
... then 1999...
Image source, Getty ImagesShane Warne celebrates with the trophy after his team defeated Pakistan at Lords
... and in 2003 when they beat India...
Image source, Getty ImagesBrad Hogg (left) and Brett Lee with the trophy after defeating India at The Wanderers in Johannesburg, South Africa
... then in 2007...
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Australian team celebrates after winning their final against Sri Lanka at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados
...and finally in 2015.
Image source, GetThe Australian team celebrates after defeating New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia
We are less than three hours away from the start of the match and anticipation is high. This is where all the action will happen.
A bird's eye view of the Narendra Modi Stadium
Popular Indian sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik has crafted a sculpture on the Puri beach in the eastern state of Odisha, wishing the national team good luck for the final.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Indian air force is expected to execute a choreographed air show ahead of the final. Their Surya Kiran squad has been rehearsing the flypast for the past few days.
Indian air force conducts rehearsals ahead of the Cricket World Cup final
Image source, Getty ImagesMohammad Shami and Virat Kohli have been star performers for India
Finding the right combination for every match has been India’s strength. The hosts have won matches with huge margins when batters and bowlers both dominated the opposition. Against South Africa, India won by 243 runs, and the scale of victory was 302 runs against Sri Lanka. Their strategy to get going right at the start with openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scoring at a brisk pace has worked well. While Virat Kohli has looked to play through the innings, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav have continued to score fast, resulting in huge totals.
While the famed batting line-up has delivered, bowlers have also left an indelible mark in the tournament. Mohammed Shami has led the attack with his precise and controlled bowling, and he's been ably supported by Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. The spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have ensured that the opposing teams have no time to settle in after the pace onslaught.
Soutik Biswas
Reporting from Delhi
Image source, Getty ImagesAll eyes will again be on Virat Kohli, the king of the one-day game.
His century in Wednesday's semi-final was the Indian superstar's 50th in the format, taking him one clear of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
His statistics are phenomenal.
Kohli averages 58.69 in the format - the best of any player to have played 50 matches or more. That's not all - he averages 65.49 when pursuing a target in ODIs, seven runs more than any other player in history. And he has scored centuries in every country he has played in.
Kohli was a part of the Indian team that lifted the World Cup in 2011. On Sunday, he will be hoping to become a rare two-time member of a World Cup winning team.