In a nail-biting thriller, India and Australia squared off in the World Test Championship final, with the game hanging in the balance after the third day of play. India fought back strongly, posting a total of 296 runs, while Australia ended the day at 123 runs with four wickets down.
The Indian batting display was spearheaded by Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, who exhibited exceptional resilience and determination on a challenging pitch at The Oval.
Rahane narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century, falling just 11 runs short, while Thakur displayed his prowess by scoring his third century at this renowned venue. Both batsmen displayed great courage, even taking blows to their bodies, as they battled to keep India’s hopes alive.
With a lead of 296 runs and six wickets in hand, Australia holds a slight advantage heading into the next day’s play. However, India’s bowlers will be eager to make inroads and restrict the Kangaroos to a total below 400. The Indian batsmen, on the other hand, will need to brace themselves for the challenging swinging conditions at The Oval during their second innings.
Notably, this is India’s second appearance in the World Test Championship final, having previously reached the pinnacle in the inaugural cycle, only to be defeated by New Zealand. Australia, in contrast, is competing in their first-ever WTC final and will be determined to win the trophy.
As the battle continues, cricket fans eagerly await the outcome of this enthralling contest, which promises to be a fitting conclusion to the World Test Championship.
IND vs AUS Day 4 Match Prediction: Shardul Thakur on who will win WTC 2023 Final?
Although India faces a difficult battle in the upcoming World Test Championship final, Shardul Thakur isn’t bothered by the challenging task at hand.
Thakur draws motivation from England’s recent fourth-innings heroics on home soil, despite Australia having built a dominating lead of 296 runs, to believe that his team can stay in the game even if they have to deal with chasing a massive target of 450 runs.
India found themselves trailing significantly in the final, but a remarkable fightback on the third day, led by Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane’s impressive 109-run partnership for the seventh wicket, brought them back into contention.
Their relentless effort not only prevented the follow-on for India but also reduced the considerable lead. In addition, the Indian bowlers showed improvement, taking four significant Australian wickets prior to the end of play.
“Well, cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total and this one-off game, especially ICC finals, you never know, I mean, who can handle the pressure better out there – one good partnership and you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that,” Thakur said.
“So last year… England chased 400 and they did not lose too many wickets. So that’s a positive sign for us. Whatever they put up on the board, it’s too early to make any predictions. We see a lot of times in Test cricket that the game changes within an hour. So yes, we like to be optimistic tomorrow going on the field. And yeah, we’ll take it on from there.”
Also Read: WTC 2023 Final: Virat Kohli As ‘The Saviour,’ Top 3 Virat Knocks Against Australia
