IND vs AUS: 2 Days Before WTC Final This Is How Oval Pitch Looks Like

The Indians are taking the Mitchell Starc threat very seriously and if one goes by their second training session at The Oval ahead of the World Test Championship final, they are yet to decide between Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat as their wicket-keeping choice. Australia trained in the morning in cold and overcast conditions, but the Indians brought sunshine to The Oval when they turned up in the afternoon session. Though it was an optional session, the majority of the members showed up barring Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and reserve player Suryakumar Yadav.

In the two-and-a-half-hour session, skipper Rohit Sharma closely tracked the proceedings with coach Rahul Dravid and only took throwdowns after all the main batters had a long hit in the nets.

Two days to go for the #WTCFinal and this is how the pitch looks like

What is your playing XI gonna be? pic.twitter.com/wLyYHr4vcy

— DK (@DineshKarthik) June 5, 2023

While Scott Boland and Pat Cummins can do a lot of damage with their seam bowling, the Indians spent most of their time playing left-arm pace.

Squad member Jaydev Undakat, net bowler Aniket Choudhary and a local pacer gave the batters plenty of practice with their left-arm bowling.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Shami were the first ones to get a hit. Shami batted for more than 30 minutes, showing that he takes his batting very seriously.

The Oval, London

Prep mode for #TeamIndia #WTC23 pic.twitter.com/SHEHCkzKAi

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 4, 2023

Virat Kohli hit some balls against spinners before moving to the adjacent net to face Shami and Unadkat. After that he got some crucial catching practice in the slips alongside Rahane and Gill.

Delhi offie Pulkit Narang, one of the net bowlers travelling with the side, bowled a long spell with batters using him for the tougher battles against Nathan Lyon.

India need to decide between two spinners or a fourth pace option and one could not come to a conclusion two days before the game. Ravindra Jadeja had a bowl while Ashwin only came out to bat.

Another tough choice they need to make is in the wicket-keeping department.

Both Bharat and Kishan did their wicket-keeping drills before moving to the batting nets.

The experts are divided in their choice with many backing Kishan for his better batting abilities. Bharat is being pushed as a superior wicket-keeping option. One will have to wait till the final practice session to arrive at a conclusion about the playing eleven.

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What Happens If WTC Final Ends In Draw? Could Reserve Day Be Used?

The ICC World Test Championship final is just days away, with India taking on Australia in the deciding contest at the Oval in London. India, who lost the final of the previous edition to New Zealand two years ago, would be keen to go the distance this time around, against the Australian side that finished top of the WTC points table. While cricketing action across 5 days should be enough to decide the name of the winner, there are chances that the match could end in a draw if both sides cancel out each other from June 07 to June 11.

In case of a possible rain interruption, the ICC has kept a sixth reserve day in place for the WTC final. But, the match could still end in a draw. What happens in such a case?

If the ICC WTC final ends in a draw, the trophy would be shared by both India and Australia, with the two nations being joint-winners. Even in a case where the match ends in a tie, the trophy will be shared.

In other events, the prospect of boundary count, Super Over and even league standings can be used to determine a winner in case of stalemates. But, there would be no such measure in the WTC final.

Reserve Day in WTC Final

The Reserve Day only comes into the picture in case rain plays spoilsport in the match and time is lost due to extreme weather conditions. To make up for the lost time, the Reserve Day can then be used in order to find out a winner.

But, if no rain takes place and the match remains deadlocked in 5 days, the Reserve Day would not kick-in. For the extra day to be added, rain has to play some sort of role in the match, be it for the entire day or a few hours.

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"The Calmness He Has...": Cameron Green Doffs Hat To Captain Rohit Sharma

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green hopes to bring the calmness of Rohit Sharma into his game, having spent a quality time with the India captain in the Mumbai Indians dugout in IPL this year. Green, with 452 runs and six wickets, played a key role in MI's campaign this season under Rohit's captaincy, even though the five-time champions were eventually knocked out in Qualifier 2.

"The calmness he (Rohit) has out in the middle is so evident," Green told ICC ahead of the World Test Championship Final against India at The Oval, starting June 7.

"He's obviously been there and done that for 10 years. To be out there with him and just talk through a situation was awesome.

"My role was trying to be aggressive and then he obviously showed ways to go about it, whether it was attacking spin, attacking pace, kind of picking your bowler in a way," the 24-year-old added.

Green joined the Australia side late and made his first appearance at training session on Thursday.

While the Mumbai teammates will now be WTC Final foes, Green can turn to what he learnt from the India skipper throughout the IPL and during their crucial century partnership against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final IPL league game when they meet in the red-ball showdown.

Gearing up for the marquee clash, Green believes in-form Virat Kohli is definitely going to a big threat.

"Virat Kohli. I think he always tries to be the man to stand up in big moments," he said.

"A World Test Championship is obviously a massive moment, so I look forward to that." Green feels there won't be any problem for him to switch gears from T20 format to Test cricket.

"There is nothing like Test cricket when you're kind of out in the middle," he said.

"Obviously your nerves are running really high. I think the best players are the best ones that are able to handle that."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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