All set for titanic clash in pursuit of Test cricket’s holy grail
The Hindu
India will want to make amends for the inaugural WTC final held at Southampton in 2021 when New Zealand cruised home by eight wickets in a rain-affected encounter. Australia stands in the way this time around, as India takes another shot at redemption.
It has been 10 years since India has won an ICC title. The World Test Championship (WTC) final, which commences at The Oval on Wednesday, presents the team a chance to ease itself of this heavy burden.
India will want to make amends for the inaugural WTC final held at Southampton in 2021 when New Zealand cruised home by eight wickets in a rain-affected encounter. Australia stands in the way this time around, as India takes another shot at redemption.
In Shubman Gill, India boasts of the hottest property in world cricket. He had the best of times in the recent IPL, finishing as the highest run-scorer. In this calendar year alone, the Punjab batter has scored international centuries in all three formats.
Australia will be double wary of Gill’s flashing blade, given that he has the wood over strike bowler Mitchell Starc. Left-arm pacer Starc has been unable to dismiss Gill in nine Test innings, and has gone for a strike-rate of over 90.
If Gill has become synonymous with big scores, his opening partner and skipper Rohit Sharma is in a slump. The Mumbai opener may not read too much into his IPL form, but he will nervy while taking strike at The Oval. At the optional practice session on Tuesday, Rohit was hit on the finger while batting. He batted on after the hit before ending his session early.
Ajinkya Rahane makes a comeback, having last played a Test in January 2022. The Mumbai batter reinvented himself as a powerful stroke-maker in the IPL after finding some red-ball form with two centuries in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy. The vastly experienced Rahane, a veteran of 82 Tests, lends a steady hand in the middle-order.
Cheteshwar Pujara is best prepared for the English conditions as he has turned out for Sussex in the county championship over the last two months. Pujara made the most of the experience, hitting three centuries in a successful stint.