The inaugural ICC World Test Championship final, held in Southampton a couple of years ago, did not go India’s way. Despite persistent rain leaving just three and a half days of play, New Zealand took out India by eight wickets to secure a historic title triumph.
India will have a shot at redemption, this time against Australia, when the sides meet at The Oval in the summit clash of the second edition of the WTC. Rohit Sharma’s men will be desperate to rid themselves of the burden of not having won an ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy. The match marks the comeback of Ajinkya Rahane, who has reinvented himself as a powerful strokemaker in this IPL. Rahane, who made 49 and 15 in the WTC final against New Zealand, is among the six specialist batters in the squad. The Mumbai cricketer last played a Test in January 2022, but did strike some red-ball form with two centuries in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy.
Ishan Kishan was a surprise inclusion, replacing an injured K.L. Rahul. Kishan, the third opener in the side after Rohit and Shubman Gill, was picked ahead of Suryakumar Yadav and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain, has been ruled out with a thigh injury. Kishan is unlikely to feature in the eleven, with K.S. Bharat set to don the gloves.
First-choice wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a car accident in December 2022, is yet to recover from his injuries. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah also missed out due to a back injury.
Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack, and both can be potent in seam-friendly English conditions. Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat provide support, but they face a race against time to recover from niggles.
India will look to Cheteshwar Pujara to deliver with the bat. Pujara is the only one in the side to truly acclimatise to conditions in England, having chosen to play for Sussex in the County Championship. Pujara is making the most of it, scoring heaps of runs in his stint.
Up top, Rohit and Gill are a study in contrast. Rohit has had a poor run in the IPL and has looked out of sorts. He may not read too much into his form in the shortest format, but he will be nervous taking first strike at The Oval.
Sizzling form: Shubman Gill’s purple patch has continued unabated across formats. Following his 58-ball 101 against the Sunirsers Hyderabad in IPL 2023, Gill now has five hundreds in international cricket this year and one in the IPL. | Photo Credit: AFP
Gill, on the other hand, is on top of the world. Playing for the Gujarat Titans, he recently smashed his first IPL century. Gill has been scoring runs at will and is making his name as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Only a few months ago, Gill became the youngest Indian to score a century in all three international formats. His graph will reach new heights if he does well in London.
The last time India met Australia in a Test match; Virat Kohli stole the show with a brilliant 186. That knock in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad in March helped India salvage a draw to win the series 2-1. Gill was the other centurion for India, as the home team comfortably overtook Australia’s first innings total of 480.
It was Australia’s surprise win in the third Test of that leg that guaranteed a spot in the WTC final. Australia went on to finish the WTC cycle with the most wins (11) among all teams.
Australia faces a dilemma with opener David Warner. Warner has been named in the 17-man squad but has struggled for runs in Test cricket. With a few fifties for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, the southpaw has managed to find a little rhythm.
Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris are the other top-order options in the fray. Warner could well find himself out of the reckoning when the final squad number is cut to 15.
Usman Khawaja’s comeback success augurs well for Australia. Khawaja was dropped after a disappointing run in the 2019 Ashes, but since his return, the left-hander has racked up triple-digit scores. Khawaja will be keen to correct his subpar returns in England.
The batting line-up is further strengthened by the presence of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, the no. 1 and no. 3 ranked batters in the world, respectively. Like Pujara, the duo will hit the ground running, having competed in the County Championship.
Travis Head, who impressed as an opener in India, is likely to bat at five. Like he did in India, Head will have the licence to attack the bowling.
Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green provide balance as the two batting all-rounders. Green is rated as a bright young prospect, especially after his brilliant 114 against India in the fourth Test.
Captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Scott Boland make up a strong pace attack. Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the final as he is managing an Achilles issue plus a side injury, which resulted in him missing much of the Indian Premier League. He remains in contention for the first Ashes Test against England which starts at Edgbaston on June 16. Michael Neser comes into the squad for the five-day match in London. Todd Murphy, who impressed in his debut series in India, joins the ageless Nathan Lyon as the two offspinners in the squad.
On paper, Australia appears to be the stronger side. But India, the top-ranked Test side in the world, will not go quietly.
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