Photo courtesy: IANS
As they switch from the Indian Premier League (IPL) to Test cricket for the World Test Championship Final, the Indian international stars have their work cut out for them. Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami were among the players who are in the squad for the WTC Final and competed in the tense IPL finals, which finished in the early hours of Tuesday morning. KS Bharat was also a member of the Gujarat Titans squad along with these four, but he did not participate in the match. Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian team, Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, and Umesh Yadav were the other players in the IPL.
At this time, Cheteshawar Pujara, the number three batter for India and the current vice-captain of the Indian team was leading and playing for his county team, Sussex County Cricket Club. Pujara had a terrific time playing for his County side, scoring 545 runs in just seven innings across five games. The Sussex captain even scored three centuries while competing in Division 2.
Both batters and bowlers will find it challenging to adjust from IPL to Test cricket. Although each format has its own specifications, for all-format players with a proven track record, a successful run of form in one format typically translates to the other forms as well.
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Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary Indian batter, Sunil Gavaskar advised the batters to take a look at their bat speed. Gavaskar said, “I think they are going to look at their bat speed. Coming from T20 where the bat speed is very fast to test cricket where the bat speeds have to be a lot more controlled, that is something they’ll need to do. They’ll need to play in England as late as possible to allow for the swing to do its bit, not to reach out for the ball which often a lot of people make the mistake of having played on good pitches.” He further added, “Wherever you play on good pitches, you tend to play through the line, not necessarily half volleys, but in England, those deliveries can move just that little bit. So, I think those are the things that as a batter you need to watch out for.”
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Gavaskar even talked about how the bowlers will need to vary their lines and lengths. He said As a bowling unit also you’ll need to bowl a much fuller length for your new ball, for the bowlers to be able to get the movement in the air as well as after pitching.”
India has a slight advantage over Australia?
India may have the upper hand against Australia going into the WTC Final despite playing in quite different circumstances than they do at home. In 1880, Australia played its first test game in England at The Oval. Australia has only won seven times in 38 tests across 140 years. Australia’s one of the worst stadium records is this one. Australia has only triumphed at The Oval twice in the previous 50 years.
The Oval, which will host the WTC Final from June 7 to June 11, will be a concern for Australia.
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