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India play their second consecutive World Test Championship final (WTC Final) beginning tomorrow and with Josh Hazelwood being ruled out due to an injury, Australia seems to be in a spot of bother. Make no mistake, the remainder of the Australian attack, which includes captain Pat Cummins & the very dangerous Mitch Starc are of course capable of posing a lot of problems to the Indian batting lineup.
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India, on the other hand, will most certainly miss Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant & KL Rahul. However, the exploits of the star-studded Indian top order will certainly be a positive point for India. While most of the Aussie squad had opted out of the recently concluded IPL, India's top order which includes Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli set the tournament on fire. Gill scored a staggering 890 runs from 17 matches, which is the second-best in the tournament history. Virat Kohli, with a tally of 639 runs was fourth in the list with an average of over 50. While we may argue about the different formats and the ease of adaptability will be a question, batters in good nick bodes well.
"Shubman Gill has played in these conditions before. He likes to bat and spend time in the middle and face that challenge. To be honest not really too much to tell him. He is very confident player".
Rohit Sharma in the press conference.
It is no secret that India will be heavily reliant on Gill, Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma along with Cheteswar Pujara, who has been playing for Sussex in the County Championship and among the Indian top order will be the batter who is most cognizant of the English conditions.
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On the other hand, the conditions for the Test match at The Oval still remain a mystery. There have been no Tests played in the earlier part of the English summer and the Indian thinktank will have to give some thought to the bowling combination. The key question will be whom to pick among Shardul Thakur and Ravichandran Ashwin. While the pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin made life very difficult for the Aussie batters in the bilateral series played in India earlier in 2023, India will be looking at the batting ability of both Thakur & Ashwin.
π€© ππ¦ππͺππ‘: π§ππ ππ¨π¦π¦ππ ππ₯π¨π¦πππ₯! Ravichandran Ashwin has shown time and again why he's a nightmare for the Australian batters.
π₯He went past Kumble to become the Indian bowler with the most wickets against them earlier this year and there are no signs of himβ¦ pic.twitter.com/oWBqgq4qzBβ The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) June 3, 2023
A huge positive for India in the bowling department will be the form of pace spearhead Mohammad Shami over the recent edition of the IPL. Although his stats in England, where he averages around 40 would be a worry, the purple cap winner has been in stellar form recently and would look to improve his returns in the English soil. For Australia, the pair of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will hold the key to the batting line up with Usmaan Khawaja providing the anchor role and it will be up to Shami and his new ball partner - Mohammed Siraj to exploit the reportedly favourable pitch. On a comparative basis, both teams look evenly matched and it should be a cracker of a match.
However, India seems to have their nose slightly ahead on the basis of its current form. India- Australia tests in the past few years have emerged as the greatest rivalry in world cricket and have seen some spectacular cricket being played across formats. After a month of thrilling final-over finishes, let's hope my favourite format gives us a final to celebrate.
