On Sunday, India took on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup in Colombo, looking to lift their eighth title.
The match ended up being a non-contest, as Mohammed Siraj's opening spell tore the hosts apart. After Jasprit Bumrah removed Kusal Perera in the first over, Siraj started with a maiden over before taking an unbelievable 5 wickets in his next ten deliveries to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 12/6.
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He eventually finished with figures of 6/21 as Hardik Pandya also chipped in with 3 wickets to bowl Sri Lanka out for a paltry 50, and Indian openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan knocked off the target in 6.1 overs.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma praised Siraj and India's fast bowlers after the match, noting the variety present within the attack.
'India are clear favourites for the World Cup' - Michael Vaughan
Siraj's spell and the first innings scoreline made the entire cricketing world sit up and take notice of the match, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, who took to Twitter to call India the 'clear favourites' for the World Cup starting in October.
India are starting to look very very good leading into the WC .. Clear favourites .. #👍
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 17, 2023
The 2023 World Cup will be held in India, and with the last three tournaments having been won by the host country (including India themselves in 2011), the pressure is well and truly on the Men in Blue to lift the trophy.
Other prominent media personalities such as Kumar Sangakkara and Nasser Hussain have been upbeat about India's chances, with the general consensus being that they have one of the strongest squads in the tournament.
MORE: Kumar Sangakkara picks his favourites for ODI World Cup 2023
Vaughan's tweet did cause a certain section of Indian fans to respond to his tweet in humorous fashion, calling him a 'panauti' (bad luck charm).
The Englishman has been known online for often getting predictions horribly wrong, most notably on India's tour of Australia in 2021 when he said the hosts would win all formats convincingly but ended up losing the T20I and Test series.
MORE: Has Rohit Sharma opened the door for R Ashwin?
