India vs England in the final of the World Cup, to the uninitiated, may seem like a surprise. Most cricket followers would have expected the final to be among members of the Big Three as has largely been the case in the tournament’s history.

But with India beating New Zealand and Australia in successive matches to book their place at Lord’s, Mithali Raj and Co have shown that they belong at the top. Their performances in the last month since the World Cup began, and indeed in the last one year from the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, prove that this not an underdog or a fairytale run. India have already beaten the top three teams in the tournament – winning by 35 runs against hosts England in the first match. Can they do it again at the Home of Cricket?

In the final of a World Cup, past records and statistics do not count for much. India went through highs and lows to get there, England have been pretty much invincible since the first loss en route. Here’s a look at the numbers from both teams’ run to the World Cup final.

The key numbers:

  • This is only the second final appearance for India. They reached the title clash in 2005, but lost to Australia
  • England have won both editions of the World Cup they have hosted so far – 1973 and 1993
  • England have won the last two World Cup finals they played in, beating New Zealand in 1993 and 2009
  • India have won 16 of their 19 ODI matches in 2017, while England has won seven of their eight matches this year. The only loss? To India in the World Cup opener
  • If India win, they’ll become only the fourth country to lift the World Cup trophy. Australia hav won it six times, England have won it three times and New Zealand has won once in 2009  
  • The head-to-head record in World Cup matches between England and India is a close 6-4. But the overall head-to-head in One-Day Internationals is 34-26  
  • Mithali Raj (India) has scored more runs than anyone else against England in ODI cricket (1,605). She is also the second highest run-getter in this World Cup with 393 runs  
  • Four out of the top 10 highest run getters in this tournament are English – Tammy Beaumont (387), Heather Knight (363), Sarah Taylor (351) and Nat Sciver (318)  
  • England have scored the top two highest scores this World Cup – 377/7 vs Pakistan and 373/5 vs South Africa
  • Sciver is also the only player to make more than one century
  • India have the two best bowling figures in the tournament to their name – Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s 5/15 against New Zealand and Ekta Bisht’s 5/18 against Pakistan
  • Indian spinners have taken a combined 41 wickets in the tournament