"I Don't Understand": Pakistan Great Slams India's WTC Final Preparations

08.06.2023 - 09:25 sports.ndtv.com

India were off to a disappointing start on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at the Oval. Travis Head scored a brilliant ton while Steve Smith provided proper support to finish at 327 for the loss of 3 wickets.

The Indian bowlers did not look quite impressive and former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja had an interesting point to make about their performance.

Raja said that India should have played some games ahead of the WTC Final in order to get acclimatised to the conditions and the lack of preparation can end up hurting them. “One-off Tests are difficult to assess what you have to do.

A team comes from sub-continent conditions to these cold climates, and have to adjust in 5-6 days. That too, without even playing a game.

cricket Australia Cricket Team India Cricket Team David Warner Steve Smith Ramiz Raja Ravichandran Ashwin Australia India Pakistan

The absence of Ravichandran Ashwin from India's playing XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia remained one of the biggest talking points. Ashwin, who had worked hard to succeed in the tricky English conditions, didn't even find his name on the team sheet, with Ravindra Jadeja taking up the sole spinner's spot. As the match ended in a defeat for India, Ashwin took to social media and posted a lengthy tweet. The veteran cricketer has now opened up on the feeling that prompted him to do so.

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Team India was thrashed by Australia in the World Test Championship, earlier this month. Playing at the Oval, the Rohit Sharma-led side faced a 209-run defeat and their hopes of winning an ICC trophy were brutally crushed. Team India's failure at another major ICC event gave rise to a lot of criticism, as many fans and experts raised questions about the side's Playing XI. The team management went with Ravindra Jadeja as their only spinner in the match, which led to the exclusion of the ace all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin.

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Australia defeated India by 209 runs in the final of the World Test Championship to claim their maiden title last week. The game was dominated by the Pat Cummins-led side and India barely had their moments of joy. Australia ended Day 1 with a score of 327 for 3 and that put the side well ahead in the game. India did make a good comeback on the following day, but it was certainly late for them as the batting side still managed to post 469 runs on the board.

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Team India has been subjected to severe criticism ever-since they lost against Australia in the World Test Championship final on Sunday at The Oval. The Rohit Sharma-led side was bundled out for 234 while chasing 444 after Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland broke the backbone of India's batting order. Many fans and experts raised questions at the poor display of batting and bowling from Team India but former batter Mohammad Kaif pointed out that the team also needs to work on their slip fielding.

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The legendary Sachin Tendulkar found senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion from India's playing XI for the World Test Championship final baffling, as a spinner of his calibre doesn't need conducive conditions to be effective. Australia thrashed India by 209 runs in the WTC final and Ashwin's absence from XI was defended by coach Rahul Dravid, who said that overcast conditions forced them to pick a fourth specialist seamer, even though the opposition line-up comprised five left-handers. There was bright sunshine on all five days and Australia raced to 469 in the first innings, literally shutting the doors on India.

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After being completely outplayed by Australia in the first three days, Team India fought with tooth and nail to produce a decent fightback on Day 4. Apart from the action on the field, a special moment in the crowd caught the attention of everyone. During India's second innings on Day 4, a fan proposed to his girlfriend at The Oval. The camera was panned towards the couple the moment the man went on his knees and his girlfriend said 'Yes'.