Australia and India have qualified for the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 final. In the Test Championship, Australia played 19 matches, won 11 and lost three matches. Five games were drawn, so Australia topped the points table with 152 points. On the other hand, India played 18 games and won 10 of them. India lost five matches, and three matches ended in a draw. India was listed 2nd on the points table after scoring 127 points. The final game will be played at Kennington Oval, London. This match will start at 03:00 PM IST and be played between June 07-11, 2023.
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Squads
– Australia
Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchelle Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner
– India
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
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ICC Test Championship 2021-23 Record
Australia played six series in this time. Australia won four series and drew one. The only series Australia lost was against India a few months back. Australia won the Ashes 4-0 in 2021-22 and beat Pakistan by 1-0. The series between Australia and Sri Lanka was drawn with a 1-1 score. Australia then beat West Indies and South Africa by 2-0. Australia lost the recently played Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India by 2-1.
India played six test series in this World Test Championship. India won the series against New Zealand 1-0. South Africa beat India by 2-1. India whitewashed Sri Lanka by 2-0 in the home series. The series between India and England was drawn by 2-2. India beat Bangladesh by 2-0. Australia lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, which gives India quality points to qualify for the playoffs.
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Match Preview
The Australian team has played well for the past two years, although their recent Indian tour did not go well. Still, the team topped the point chart of the ICC Test Championship. The Australian team has three top-performing batters in the team. Usman Khawaja is the best opener in test cricket in this World Test Championship. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith are the top middle-order batters of the team. These three players provided back-to-back performances in every condition. Travis Head and wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey will be the key player in the middle order. David Warner did not have a good batting form in this format which is a sign of worry for the team. However, Australia will have one fast-bowling allrounder in Marsh or Green who will score runs as well as bowl a few overs.
The trio of fast bowling, including Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood, has been the toughest opposition to face in the batting. An injury to Josh Hazlewood did not clarify whether he will play or not. But Australia has senior pro Scott Boland in the squad, who can be lethal with his line and length. Mitchell Marsh or Chris Green will play as the fast bowling allrounders. Both these players are handy bowlers in English conditions. Nathan Lyon will be the front-line sinner of the team in this match. He is experienced and took many wickets in English conditions. Overall, the Australian team has a strong batting lineup that will surely provide an excellent batting show in this match. But, it will be the performance of Australian bowlers that will decide the match results.
The Indian team did well last time on the English soil. The team has Rohit Sharma in the top order, who is also the team’s Captain. The talented player Shubman Gill will be the other opener of the team in the absence of experienced KL Rahul, who is out with an injury. The test specialist Chateshwar Pujara will come in the one-down position. He is excellent in this position and has performed well in the County season. The best Indian batter Virat Kohli will hold the fourth number position. The top four batters are also the best batters of the team. Due to an injury, the middle order will miss two talented youngsters, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. India picked up Srikar Bharat as the wicketkeeper in place of Pant. The good thing is Ishan Kishan is also available as a wicketkeeper batter.
Ajinkiya Rahane is a strong contender for playing 11 who is experienced and will make a comeback to the team after two years. Ravindra Jadeja can play as an allrounder in the team along with Shardul Thakur. Ravichandran Ashwin will be the specialist spin-bowling option along with Jadeja. The fast bowling unit did not have Jasprit Bumrah, which will surely haunt India’s momentum. However, Muhammad Shami has been the best bowler in India in the last year in all formats. He and Muhammad Siraj will make the best combination of fast bowlers. India can also play Umesh Yadav as the third bowling option in this game. The team has good players, but injuries to the key players of the Indian team will make it difficult for the team to win this contest. India also lost the inaugural World Test Championship Final against New Zealand.
Pitch Report
This pitch is reputed to provide many advantages to batters. Oval Ground has many high team totals, as it never lets down batters. But batting isn’t always favourable on this surface. The bowlers also controlled the match on a few occasions. Fast bowlers with the new ball and spinners on the 4th and 5th day of the test get some help from the Kia Oval pitch. The average score in the first innings in the last five games is 300+, which means toss winning Captain must choose to bat.
Weather Report
It is impossible to forecast because the weather in England is so unpredictable. There will be sunshine and clouds on the ground during the match days. Rain chances are low. Humidity will be more than 50 per cent.
Key Players
Usman Khawaja is the best Australian batter in this World Test Championship. He scored 1608 runs at an average of almost 70. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith are the other vital batsmen, with 1509 and 1252 runs, respectively. Nathan Lyon is the best spinner and highest wicket-taker of WTC with 83. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took 53 and 51 wickets.
Chateshwar Pujara is the best Indian batter in this Test Championship, with 887 runs at an average of 33. Virat Kohli scored 869, and Rohit Sharma scored 700 runs in WTC. Ravichandran Ashwin took 61 wickets in this Test Championship. Ravindra Jadeja and Muhammad Shami are the other vital bowlers, with 43 and 41 wickets.
Match Prediction
Australia will win this final.