IND vs AUS WTC Final: India and Australia are set to square off in the World Test Championship final clash on June 7 at the Oval in London. Ahead of the WTC final, in this post, we take a glance at some of the IND vs AUS key battles to look out for in the grand finale.
Australia took the top spot in the 2021–23 WTC points table with a 66.67 points percentage (PCT) while playing 19 matches, followed by India in second place with a 58.8 PCT in their 18 games. India is going to compete in its second consecutive final.
India defeated Australia 2-1 at home in a four-game Border-Gavaskar Trophy series earlier this year, securing their place to play Australia in the WTC final.
While Australia is ready to unleash its formidable bowling unit, which includes Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Nathan Lyon, the Indian bowling attack, which is without the service of Jasprit Bumrah, will rely on Mohammad Shami, Siraj, and Umesh to put up an uphill battle to the Australian batting order.
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Here are three key battles to look out for in the 2023 WTC Final:
IND vs AUS WTC Final Key Battles
Virat Kohli vs Pat Cummins
The modern-day run machine of international cricket, Virat Kohli, has scored runs with dominance all over the planet. However, just a handful of bowlers, particularly Pat Cummins and James Anderson, have given him some very difficult trials throughout time.
Since 2017, Virat has faced more than 300 balls with an average of 16, scoring just under 100 runs against Cummins. About 6 times throughout this time, he got out to him. These statistics are pretty dismal given the caliber of the batter, showing that Cummins has managed to limitate Kohli.
Ashwin vs Smith and Warner
A bowler who is truly lethal for left-handers is Ravichandran Ashwin. He has the potential to put forth some serious damage to David Warner. Ten dismissals in 385 deliveries for 182 runs (an average of 18.2) show that there has only been one winner in this battle.
The only time this contest was even close was during the 2012–13 series in India when Warner hit 79 runs and got knocked out twice.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the only bowler in Test cricket who has two times got out Smith for a duck on the very first ball. Up until 2020, Smith had an edge over Ashwin, giving him the wicket only three times while averaging 116 against the off-spinner.
However, things went south since then as Ashwin has knocked him out five times in 11 innings. Since 2020, Smith has faced Ashwin on average 17.2, and he has been out within 39 balls.
Indian Top Order vs Mitch Starc
The Indian top-four batters have historically done well in front of Starc. Rohit and Gill have never got out to Starc to date but in such conditions where the pitch is left with 1 inch of grass, he becomes a very deadly speedster. India’s record against left-arm swing bowlers is also not so much convincing and promising.
Kohli, Pujara, and Rahane have a combined average of over 80 against Starc. He is probably one of the bigger threats to the Indian top order.
Siraj vs Usman Khawaja
Siraj has entirely enhanced his new red ball game by pushing it to the next level. He has been able to get more out of each given pitch because of his hard length and accuracy. Siraj might cause trouble for Usman Khawaja if he is given the new ball right away, which is what we understand will happen.
READ: ICC WTC Final: Who will win if rain plays spoilsport in the WTC Final between India and Australia?
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