India are gearing up for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia which will be played in England on 7-11 June. Having lost to New Zealand in the last final, India will look to experience a memorable outing and clinch the coveted ICC Test mace.
India recently defeated Australia 2-1 at home in a four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy and were victorious on their last two tours Down Under (2018-19 and 2020-21). Naturally, India would be seen as favourites for the WTC Final 2023, but the Rohit Sharma-led side is missing a lot of key players including pacer Jasprit Bumrah, maverick wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, batters KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
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Another factor that could dent India’s chances is their performance at the venue of the grand finale.
The match will be played at the iconic The Oval stadium in London.
India and Australia’s record at The Oval
In 14 matches so far at The Oval, India have only won 2, having lost 5 and drawn 7. Their win percentage is 14.39 per cent.
India’s first win at the venue came in 1971 when the team led by Ajit Wadekar defeated the hosts (England) by 4 wickets. The second victory, however, came much more recently, in 2021, when Virat Kohli’s Team India thrashed England by 157 runs.
The 2021 victory was India’s first Test win at The Oval in 40 years.
India’s first Test at the venue was played in 1936.
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Australia also do not boast a good record in the stadium. In 38 matches so far, only 7 wins have belonged to the Aussies while they have lost 17 and 14 Test matches ended in a draw. They have a win percentage of 18.42 per cent.
Australia first played at the venue in 1880 and their first win at The Oval came in 1882.
The good news for the team from Down Under is that they also won a game recently there, in 2015, they defeated England by an innings and 46 runs with Steve Smith scoring 143.
Stats
Steve Smith clearly have great memories of The Oval as he has smashed 391 runs in 3 matches including 2 hundred and averages close to 100 on the ground.
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Natha Lyon was the top wicket-taker in WTC 2023 cycle with 83 wickets but the off-spinner has only taken nine wickets in three matches at The Oval at an average of 30.77.
Mitchell Marsh took a fifer in 2019 in a match at The Oval.
For India, Rohit struck his first overseas Test century (127) at the venue in 2021 as India defeated England. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have also scored centuries at the ground but they are not a part of the WTC Final squad.
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