🏏 WTC Final 2023, India vs Australia: Kennington Oval, London 🏏 - Page 2

Gill is yet to really show his full prowess against the red ball, despite the fact he already has two centuries to his name from 15 Test matches.

Experienced skipper Rohit Sharma will partner Gill at the top of India's batting order for the south London clash that commences on Wednesday and the veteran is also confident he will perform.

"The way he is batting at the moment, I don't think he needs any advice," Rohit said. "He is a batter who likes to bat and likes to spend a lot of time in the middle.”

India stalwart Virat Kohli has revealed the impact he has had on the emergence of rising star Shubman Gill and believes the young opener is primed to perform well in the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia.

Gill has shot to prominence in all three formats of the game over the last 12 months, with the 23-year-old scoring a record-breaking ODI double-century against New Zealand at the start of the year and then producing a superb Indian Premier League that netted three centuries and 890 runs.

Kohli said he has taken Gill under his wing since the right-hander arrived in the national setup and is proud to see the young gun start to put it all together at the of the order.

May the best team win

Originally posted by: Satrangi_Curls

May the best team win

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar said the spin-friendly nature of the Oval pitch will make India a confident side going into the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia from Wednesday. With India boasting of two wonderful spinners to choose from in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Tendulkar said the team can take a lot of heart from the pitch factor. "The Indian team will be happy that they are playing at the Oval. The nature of the Oval pitch is such that it assists the spinners as the match goes on. So, spinners will come into play a little bit," he said.

‘Exciting opportunity’: Cummins eyeing legacy tour for ageing team

Captain Pat Cummins believes his team of veterans can carve a special place in history if they achieve success in the World Test Championship final and The Ashes.

Team India will be up against Australia in the much-awaited World Test Championship final at The Oval starting from Wednesday. India have been the most consistent side over the past two WTC cycles and also reached knockout phases of major white-ball tournaments over the last 10 years but an ICC trophy has eluded them. The last major ICC trophy India won was way back in 2013 when it bagged the Champions Trophy in England. A lot of debate regarding the Playing XI has been going on, especially for the position of the wicketkeeper. As Rishabh Pant has been out of action since December, last year and KL Rahul has also been ruled out, the squad consists of Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat as the wicketkeeping options.

Here's what we think could be India's playing XI against Australia for the WTC Final:

Rohit Sharma: The Indian skipper had a mediocre run in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians and will look for redemption in the WTC final. Rohit is known for his aggressive batting and had smashed a century against Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February this year. He finished the four-match series with a total of 242 runs.

Shubman Gill: The young talented opener needs no introduction as he has been grabbing a lot of attention in the past few months. Coming from a successful IPL stint, Gill will look to continue his fiery form. In his last Test outing, he played a knock of 128 against Australia in March.

Cheteshwar Pujara: The veteran batter will be a must-watch as he is coming after delivering top performances for Sussex in County Cricket this year. Pujara's brilliant experience will be really beneficial for Team India in the marquee event.

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli battled through his lean patch and roared back to form in 2022 and hasn't looked back ever since. He smashed his most-awaited 29th Test century in the fourth Test against Australia in March. He also had a terrific outing in the IPL and is currently in a red-hot form.

Ajinkya Rahane: Former India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who was sidelined for the team, battled his way back after a brilliant outing in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings. He scored 326 runs in 14 matches and will look to deliver more for Team India in the WTC final.

KS Bharat: Amid the ongoing debate for the wicketkeeping position, the management might go in with the experience of KS Bharat over Ishan Kishan, who is yet to make his Test debut. Bharat was seen in the BGT series against Australia, where he scored only 101 runs at an average of 20.20.

Ravindra Jadeja: The star all-rounder emerged as the hero of the BGT series against Australia. With his brilliant spin, he scalped a total of 22 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls and one four-wicket haul. His spin and batting performance will be crucial for Team India.

Ravichandran Ashwin: Apart from Jadeja, another Indian spinner who utterly impressed everyone was Ravichandran Ashwin. With 25 scalps to his name, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the series.

Shardul Thakur: Though Shardul played his last Test against England in July 2022, Team India might still go with him, in order to strengthen their pace as well as batting attack.

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Mohammed Shami: The senior pacer will be one of the pillars of India's bowling attack. In the BGT 2023, he scalped nine wickets, including a four-wicket haul. He also emerged as the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023.

Mohammed Siraj: Despite failing to leave a mark in the BGT 2023 with only wicket to his name, Team India will definitely go ahead with Mohammed Siraj as their pace option. The 29-year-old pacer had a brilliant outing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023 and scalped 19 wickets in 14 matches.

Premier Australian pacer Mitchell Starc said he hasn't been participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a long time to prolong his international career as he wants to represent his country in 100 Test matches. A member of the 2015 ODI World Cup winning team and the 2021 T20 World Cup winning side, Starc will be looking to add another ICC event to his name when he turns up for Australia in the World Test Championship final against India at The Oval starting on Wednesday.

Rohit was generously gifted in terms of picking his length early. Hence, at times, in the sporadic appearances he made in Test cricket, his dismissals gave the impression that he didn't romance the grind of Test cricket enough. Caught mid-on, caught mid-off, caught deep cover, caught deep mid-wicket after glorious 20s and 30s. It added to the fans' frustrations and helped his critics sharpen their knives .

As Rohit prepares to lead India in the WTC final in what will be his 50th Test,

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