India Carries Failure On Biggest Stage Into WTC Final Against Australia

The first World Test Championship final didn바카라�t go as expected. Or maybe it did. (More Cricket News)

India started as the marginal favorite against New Zealand in 2021 in neutral Southampton, and unraveled under pressure on a low-scoring fast bowlers바카라� pitch from New Zealand바카라�s five-prong pace attack on the fifth day.

India has made it back to the final to face Australia on neutral turf at The Oval from Wednesday.

Given it is ranked No. 1 and has beaten Australia in their last four Test series, including two in Australia, India starts the second final of the International Cricket Council바카라�s World Test Championship the slight favorite again.

But India바카라�s record in global tournaments hasn바카라�t lived up to expectations. For all of its leverage on world cricket바카라�s finances and outsized influence in the Twenty20 franchise game, India hasn바카라�t won a global event for 10 years; not since the 2013 Champions Trophy under Mahendra Singh Dhoni바카라�s leadership. Since then, another Champions Trophy, two Cricket World Cups, four T20 World Cups and a WTC have come and gone without an India triumph.

Coach Rahul Dravid denies that record has become baggage for India.

바카라�We don바카라�t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy,바카라� Dravid said. 바카라�Of course, it would be nice to do it. It would be nice to get them on the right side of the result.바카라�

The main reason they haven바카라�t? The batting.

There바카라�s no lack of self-belief. But that has also been India바카라�s undoing at crunch times in global tournaments. The team is full of personalities wanting to express themselves and take risks. And the charismatic Virat Kohli often hasn바카라�t had enough support from other senior batters.

The main questions about the lineup aren바카라�t about the batting, though. They concern whether to pick a second spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin or Axar Patel, to back up Indian Premier League final hero Ravindra Jadeja, and which of KS Bharat or Ishan Kishan will keep wicket while Rishabh Pant continues to rehab from a car crash in December. Bharat has the inside running after featuring during the home series win over Australia in February-March.

As for Ravichandran Ashwin or Axar Patel? Ashwin and Jadeja were the players of the series for India against Australia. If selectors go for four seamers, then Shardul Thakur 바카라� the only Indian to score two half-centuries in the 2021 final 바카라� Umesh Yadav and the inexperienced Jaydev Unadkat are in the mix.

India suffered by playing three seamers in the 2021 final, even after rain washed out the scheduled first day. But there바카라�s no rain forecast this week; there hasn바카라�t been any rain in London for three weeks. The track is dry and bouncy. Whether it will break up is a mystery. The Oval has never before staged a Test in June in 143 years.

The Oval crowd will undoubtedly sound more like Mumbai than Melbourne this week but Australia바카라�s confidence is boosted by the Test not being in India.

Australia cleared up one doubt by ruling out injury-prone pace bowler Josh Hazlewood to ensure he바카라�s fit for the Ashes series starting next week.

Scott Boland, on his first tour of the United Kingdom, is expected to be the third seamer after captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

The fourth will be allrounder Cameron Green, who went the deepest in the IPL of the four Australians in the squad. Green scored his first Test hundred in March at Ahmedabad, and though his preparation for this final has been heavy on Twenty20s, he바카라�s expected to benefit from the high-class intensity of the IPL.

Opener David Warner has only one hundred in Test cricket since January 2020 but he바카라�s hoping to overcome a poor recent record in England to play a farewell Test in his Sydney hometown in January. Australia coach Andrew McDonald backed Warner to come right: 바카라�We think he바카라�s got some good games left in him.바카라�

If the final is drawn or tied, the title, prize money and winner바카라�s mace will be shared. Monday is a reserve day in case of rain.