Indian cricket team in action against Australia in WTC Final© AFP
India were off to a disappointing start on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at the Oval. Travis Head scored a brilliant ton while Steve Smith provided proper support to finish at 327 for the loss of 3 wickets. The Indian bowlers did not look quite impressive and former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja had an interesting point to make about their performance. Raja said that India should have played some games ahead of the WTC Final in order to get acclimatised to the conditions and the lack of preparation can end up hurting them.
“One-off Tests are difficult to assess what you have to do. A team comes from sub-continent conditions to these cold climates, and have to adjust in 5-6 days. That too, without even playing a game. I don’t understand. This is the WTC Final, India should have at least had inter-squad matches before this. Even if you had played 3-4 one-day matches, you get acclimatized to the conditions,” Raja said on his official YouTube channel.
“It is overcast, the pitch conditions are quite different. You want to have adjustment. Bowlers also need to adjust their lines and lengths here. After four overs in IPL, you have to bowl 17 here in a day. The body needs rest,” he added.
Travis Head and Steve Smith were batting on 146 and 95 respectively at close of play on Day 1 as Australia added 157 runs in the final session which had 34 overs without losing any wicket. The duo added 251 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand.
Earlier, Australia, who were invited to bat, had added 97 runs in the post-lunch session in 28 overs for the loss of one wicket. They were 73 for 2 at lunch after opener David Warner made 43 off 60 balls.
Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur took a wicket each on the day.
(With PTI inputs)
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