AUS Vs IND WTC Final 2023 Preview: India will face a tougher challenge against Australia in the upcoming Ultimate Test Match which will be played at Kennington Oval in London.
This match will be the final red ball game of the World Test Championship (WTC) and it will be played from tomorrow, Wednesday, 7th June to Sunday, 11th June 2023 and Monday, 12th June 2023 has been kept as a reserve day.
The Aussies have won all the ICC tournaments till now and they are the team who won the most trophies. By winning this all-important game against India, Australia will add another feather to their big hat.
For Australia, the conditions of England are not like an alien. They have a complete team which could outplay Team India in all three departments.
Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and David Warner will be the three batters to watch out for in this ultimate Test match. Steve Smith is the highest run scorer for his country at the venue of Kennington Oval in London.
While the other batters have done well in the World Test Championship tournament so far and they would like to end it on a high.
Australia has also got the firepower in their bowling. Even though Josh Hazlewood is out of the WTC 2023 Final due to injury, but still, Mitchell Starc, skipper Pat Cummins, Cameron Green and Scot Boland are good enough fast bowlers to dent the Indian batting lineup.
Nathan Lyon will be the lone and lead spinner of this bowling attack and he has the calibre to trouble the Indian batters who are good at playing against spin.
For India, their bowling attack is good. They have fast bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur.
But the main worry is their batting. India needs to bat well in both innings to keep the contest in balance.
India’s top five batters hold the key in this contest as they will have to get adjusted with the Dukes Ball and conditions of England.
Team India doesn’t play with the Dukes Ball and that’s why they feel hard to get adjusted. The technique will be tested for the Indian batters in conditions which are good for the pace bowlers.
Virat Kohli has scored just 169 runs at Kennington Oval. He is the player to watch out for because he is in great form.
While Ajinkya Rahane makes a return to the red ball format and he is in decent form as well.
Cheteshwar Pujara has been in England for his county cricket stint for some while now. So his experience will come in handy for the men in blue in this Test match.
But still, India has to do a lot of thinking on their spin bowling combination and which wicket-keeper to select in the playing XI. The conditions in London support the pace bowlers.
So India should pick Ravindra Jadeja as their lone and lead spinner. They should add Shardul Thakur to their XI.
Lord Thakur can add depth in batting in the absence of Ashwin and Axar which is needed in those conditions.
Ishan Kishan should be the first-choice wicket-keeper batter for this match. He can fill in the big shoes of Rishabh Pant.
Kishan has an attacking style of play just like Pant. While KS Bharat didn’t impress that well in the home series against Australia.
The WTC 2023 Final match between India and Australia can be seen on Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar.
