Steve Smith: WTC final against India at Oval is going to be a great match

Stand-in captain Smith expects the conditions for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Oval in June to suit Australia’s style of play.

Though Australia won the third Test in Indore, Smith admitted that the defeat in the second Test in New Delhi did hurt it. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith is looking forward to the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval in June.

While Australia had made it to the coveted final after winning the third Test in Indore, India had to wait till Monday afternoon to book a berth. Despite the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ending in a draw, India was through to the final, following New Zealand’s nervy-win against Sri Lanka in Christchurch.

To make it to the WTC final, Sri Lanka needed a 2-0 win over New Zealand, but as the Islanders went down to the Kiwis despite a thrilling contest, India surged ahead, riding on its points percentage (PCT) advantage (60.25).

“The guys are really pumped by it, really excited. We saw India when they came back out on the field just after New Zealand had won in what looked like a pretty cool Test match. It’s going to be great coming up against India in the final,” Smith said after Australia conceded the Test series 1-2.

The conditions in the UK will be different, but the Aussies are up for the challenge. “The Oval, the wicket there can take spin at times particularly as the game wears on. So, it could be interesting in terms of what sort of wicket we get. It’s a great place to play cricket, there’s usually reasonable pace and bounce for an English wicket. It’s probably as close as you get to Australia in terms of pace and bounce. It’s going to be a great Test match and the guys are looking forward to it,” Smith said.

Though Australia won the third Test in Indore, Smith admitted that the defeat in the second Test in New Delhi did hurt it. “We really hurt after that game in Delhi,” Smith said. “Guys were pretty upset with the way we went away from our methods in that game. It was disappointing, but obviously, at that point, we knew there was plenty to still play for in the series and the guys responded really well. And, as a group, we are proud of the way we bounced back and played some good cricket in the last couple of Test matches.”