The 2023 edition of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is all set to come to an end on Sunday (November 19). Hosts India will take on five-time champions Australia in the tournament final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Ahead of the marquee final, the pitch has been in focus as the Indian team management was accused of changing the track for their semi-final clash against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium.

As per The Indian Express, the Narendra Modi Stadium surface will be the same as the one served for the India versus Pakistan match last month.

The pitch will be sluggish in nature and the ball will take its time to reach the batter after pitching.

"Around 315 runs could be a defendable score as batting second will be difficult," a pitch curator in Ahmedabad told PTI.

The curators have kept two strips ready for the summit clash. According to news reports, none of them are in the centre. The surface that is likely to be used for the final is towards the right of the ground.

On Friday (November 17), two senior BCCI's chief of ground staff Ashish Bhowmick and his deputy Taposh Chatterjee, along with former India seamer and BCCI's GM (Domestic Cricket) Abbey Kuruvilla kept a close eye on the pitch preparations for the final, PTI reported.

"If heavy roller is being used on a black soil strip then the idea is to create a slow batting track where you can get a big score but you possibly can't consistently hit through the line. 315 could be a defendable score as batting second will be difficult," the state association curator explained.

India skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid also inspected the pitch on Friday alongside batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip.