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LONDON : India's batters should be prepared to grind out runs in tricky English conditions against Australia's fiery pace attack in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval, skipper Rohit Sharma said on Monday.
Star Australia batter Steve Smith on Monday expressed his concerns over the future of the five-day game ahead of the World Test Championship final against India beginning at The Oval on Wednesday. The rapid growth of franchise cricket around the world has put pressure on the international schedule. The smaller nations are not playing enough Test cricket, with India, Australia and England effectively driving the longest format. It was, though, ironical that Smith spoke about the uncertain future ahead of the biggest game in Test cricket -- the WTC final.
The Indians are taking the Mitchell Starc threat very seriously and if one goes by their second training session at The Oval ahead of the World Test Championship final, they are yet to decide between Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat as their wicket-keeping choice. Australia trained in the morning in cold and overcast conditions, but the Indians brought sunshine to The Oval when they turned up in the afternoon session. Though it was an optional session, the majority of the members showed up barring Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and reserve player Suryakumar Yadav.
LONDON : Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed fellow fast bowler Scott Boland will play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India beginning at The Oval on Wednesday.
Australian batter Travis Head likes the way England skipper Ben Stokes and Head coach Brendon McCullum are leading the English Test team. He said that their style of cricket is "new and fresh". "I like it, I think the way they're going about it is exciting. It's new and it's fresh, and they're coming up with a style that's true to them and true to 'Baz' (McCullum) and Stokes," Travis Head said to cricket.com.au. The Australian batter had a great stint in the last Ashes. Australia had clinched the series 4-0 where Head had a great contribution. In the first match at Gabba, he scored a brilliant hundred.
LONDON : Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India with Scott Boland set to replace him in the playing XI in the one-off match beginning at The Oval on Wednesday.
An Oval Test match in the month of June does bring in the fear of unknown but former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar would still want Indian team management to field both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming World Test Championship final against Australia. The WTC final will be played at the Oval from June 7-11. In 140 years of Test match history, this is the first time that the iconic South London ground is hosting a Test match in the month of June when the pitch is green and fresh.
Out of all the top stars who are in the Indian cricket team for the World Test Championship final, one batter who will be closely watched is Shubman Gill. The last year has been a stellar time for the dashing opener. Be it Tests, ODIs, T20Is, or even the recently-concluded IPL, Gill has proven that he is the next big thing in world cricket. Naturally, the expectations are high from the 23-year-old as the WTC final draw near. This time India will face Pat Cummins' Australia for a shot at ending their decade-long ICC title drought. However, ahead of the final, Australia great and former India coach, Greg Chappell has pointed out a few areas which might be troublesome for Gill.