Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has backed the Indian batting line-up to trump Australia’s when they meet in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in London starting June 7.
When asked to predict the outcome of the final while appearing on a Star Sports show alongside Aaron Finch, Gavaskar said if India win the toss and choose to bat, they might only have to bat in the first innings.
“I’m backing India to out-bat Australia because if you look at the Indian batting lineup, at number 8 we have (Ravichandran) Ashwin who has five Test hundreds and the Oval is generally a very good pitch to bat on. You win the toss, put up a big score on the first two days, then you don’t have to bat in the second innings,” he said.
Australian Finch, on the other hand, backed his countrymen to out-bowl India. “The Oval wicket can spin in June and that’s why I’m backing Australia to win this,” he said.
When asked by host if going from IPL cricket to Test match cricket would be an issue, Gavaskar said it isn’t going to be much of a problem as the players from both sides are quite experienced. He did advise players to go early to England to get accustomed to the conditions.
“I know the IPL finishes on May 28, and the Test starts on June 7. I’d like to see those players from the teams who haven’t qualified to go to England a bit earlier, maybe even play against club sides. It will help them adjust to the conditions,” he said.
Australia secured their spot in the final by beating India by nine wickets in Indore last month.
New Zealand defeated India in the inaugural WTC decider in 2021.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
