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| Welcome to the live coverage of the WTC FINAL between India and Australia |
Participants
The nine full members of the ICC who participated:
The three full members of the ICC who did not participate:
Playing XI
Australia XI :-
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| Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland |
India XI :- |
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj |
Day 1
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| 📸 - @BCCI |
Australia post 327 for 3 as Head and Smith make merry with no support for pacers Siraj and Shami.
As the evening meandered on, an inaudible wail of helplessness rang around the stadium from India’s deflated bowlers. All they might have wanted was the ordeal of the harrowing day to end soon, to begin fresh anew. But the trauma would drag on, until stumps were drawn at the score of 327/3, most of the runs scored by Travis Head (146) and Steve Smith (95) in an unbroken 251-run stand. The bowlers and fielders stuttered tiredly into the dressing, with knackered limbs and battered minds, looking pensively towards the sky.
The insipid evening, or even the spiritless afternoon, when Head freewheeled to an audacious hundred in the company of a serene Smith, would hurt them less than the wasted morning. It’s the same heart-breaking narrative that touring Indian sides have endured for as long as the country started touring.
Call it the first day, first Test bowling syndrome, an incurable affliction.
The profligacy of the first-day morning of a Test in England, when they were bestowed with everything they could dream of, yet squandered them like a reckless millionaire in Las Vegas, resurfaced. There was cloud cover, the sun emerging late in the session; there was swing, the ball hooping around wildly at times; there was bounce and carry; there was uncertain Australian batsmen; there was Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, two fine exponents of swung and seam bowling.
Yet, they misspent a session that could have put them in the driver’s seat to win the World Test Championship. The start was dreamy—pressure-piling maiden overs punctuated with the wicket of Usman Khawaja with a precise Siraj wobble-seamer. But the dreaminess ended there. Both Shami and Siraj beat the bat of both David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne, hit Labuschagne on his fingers, kept the crowd wincing and sighing, yet they could not purchase a wicket for the next 18 overs, until Warner gloved softly down the leg-side. It was nothing but a gift of a wicket, of a directionless Shardul Thakur short ball.
Failure to hit fuller length
As is often the case, India’s pacers failed to hit the fuller length—the length that batsmen dread on the first morning of a Test in England— on a consistent basis. Just 20 percent of their balls landed in the full-length territory. It made batsmen’s life considerably comfortable—they could sit back and defend or punch, rather than suckered into driving.
Shami later realised the virtue of bowling fuller when he castled Labuschagne through the gate with his fullest ball until then at the start of the second session. By that time, the sun was glazing down and batting was friendlier. The momentum had been irrecoverably lost.
What was worse than not making enough dents with the hooping Dukes ball was offering free runs. Siraj and Shami at least suffocated the batsmen and rarely bowled a boundary ball. The introduction of Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur expanded the boundary-belting canvas for Warner and Labuschagne. Yadav, rusty and rickety, hit the right notes in his first over, before rolling back his years to the scattergun avatar and ended being spanked for four boundaries in an over. He would either be too short or too wide, and without the bustling pace that makes him lethal. Yadav averaged 23.5 in England before this game, but that was when he used to hit fuller lengths and extracted delightful away movement at pace. This was a shadow of Yadav, underwhelming and uninspired.
Thakur, too, seemed gingery and remotely sharp. The designated workhorse, he ended up leaking 4.16 runs an over, worse than Yadav’s 3.85. Risk lingered in choosing Yadav and Thakur, the former sans game-time and the latter without any concrete form in the lead-up. Both could cry hoarse over lack warm-up games, but then they knew that beforehand. They did produce an occasional beauty, but had not the persistence to pound the same area and bargain a wicket. Without the support of the support cast, the lead men faltered, and by the end bowling like men who had burned all their hopes.
All of them seemed bereft of ideas and plans when Smith and Head began to put them to sword. They devised fanciful plans to nip Smith, like placing two fielders, each just at an arm’s length, in the midwicket region for the aerial flick. Desperation sinking them, they kept fidgeting and altering their plans, not sticking with any for a concerted period. When Head steamed into his 90s, they unleashed a bouncer barrage, but it seemed a ploy too late. Head, in the middle phase of his career, was shaky against Ravindra Jadeja. The left-arm spinner beat him on the drive as well as the cut, but survived. For a while, Jadeja kept things tight as he normally does, found turn and purchase, but then Head and Smith counterattacked him into submission. Like his colleagues, he too lost mastery over his lengths. His first three overs conceded just seven runs, his next 11 leaked 41.
Teams do recover from horror first sessions, but India were flat and plain in the second and third session. They stood dazed as Head climbed through the gears sinisterly and seamlessly. Whatever unfolded next was a reaction to an event. If Head struck a boundary through point, a fielder would be moved from mid-wicket to point. But the bowler would stray into his body and he would ruthlessly flick. The first day’s footage should be a case study on how bowlers don’t bowl to their fielders.
By the third session, the energy on the field too dissipated. Even the ever-effervescent Virat Kohli too lost his voice; Rohit Sharma turned numb in despair; the bowlers limped through the crease. What was more appalling than their lack of application was their lack of discipline and fire, the energy to plough on, the drive to fight on, and they find the game drifting towards a gloomy end, right on the first day.
There are times when the conditions conspire; when batsmen are in unbreakable form, but what would hurt India here is that they defeated themselves, in their own ineptitude. The same old first-day first Test syndrome came to haunt them again—only that there are no second chances this time.
Day 2
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| 📸 - @BCCI |
WTC Final 2023 Live Cricket Score, IND vs AUS Match Today: India are 151 for 5 at the Stumps on Day 2 are still trailing by 318 runs.
Captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were dismissed in the space of five balls and India was 37-2 at tea. Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara followed the suit. India were in even more trouble at 71 for four before a defiant counterattack from Ravindra Jadeja. Nathan Lyon got him just before the close to reaffirm Australia’s dominance.
Anjinkya Rahane (29 batting) and KS Bharat (5 batting) were on the crease with India still behind by 318 runs. All the five bowlers chipped away with one wicket apiece for India.
Australia was all out for 469 inside an hour after lunch. The last seven wickets were taken for 108 runs in a good comeback by India after Australia threatened 500-plus while Travis Head and Steve Smith were in. But after the morning exits of both century-makers, only Alex Carey reached double figures.
Carey got to 48 after hitting spinner Ravindra Jadeja high over the mid-on fence, but he lunged at the next ball for an ill-advised reverse sweep and missed. Mohammed Siraj led the India attack with four wickets, notably Head, and Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur took two each.
Brief Scores
Australia 1st Innings: 469 all out in 121.3 overs (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121, Alex Carey 48; Mohammed Shami 2/102, Mohammed Siraj 2/106, Shardul Thakur 2/83)
India 1st Innings: 151 for 5 in 38 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 48, Ajinkya Rahane 29 batting; Nathan Lyon 1/4)
Day 3
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| Stumps on Day 3 of the #WTC23 Final! 📸 - @bcci (Twitter Handle) WTC Final 2023: Follow all the highlights upto Day 3 below between India and Australia from the Oval.India vs Australia, WTC Final 2023: India will be the happier of the two sides despite trailing by 296 runs as they have already clinched the wickets of David Warner, Usman Khawaja and the two centurions of the 1st innings, Travis Head and Steve Smith. Australia currently have Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the middle. Earlier, India were all out for 296 in their first innings, giving Australia a big lead of 173 runs on the third day of the World Test Championship final at Oval on Friday. Australia, who made 469 in their first innings, were 23 for one in 11 overs at tea. For India, Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant 89 off 129 balls while Shardul Thakur played a gutsy innings of 51 from 109 balls. Resuming the third day on overnight 151 for five and 318 runs behind Australia’s first innings total of 469 all out, India lost KS Bharat early but Rahane and Thakur added 109 runs for the seventh wicket to help their team avoid follow-on at The Oval. For Australia, Skipper Pat Cummins picked up three wickets for Australia while there were two wickets apiece for Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Cameron Green. Brief Scores Australia 1st Innings: 469 all out in 121.3 overs (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121, Alex Carey 48; Mohammed Shami 2/102, Mohammed Siraj 2/106, Shardul Thakur 2/83) India 1st Innings: 296 all out in 69.4 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51, Ravindra Jadeja 48; Pat Cummins 3/83) |
Day 4
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| That's Stumps on Day 4 of #WTC23 Final! 📸 - @bcci (Twitter Handle) |
London: A focussed Virat Kohli stood between Australia and World Test Championship mace as India require another 280 runs to create history on what promises to be an intriguing final day of the summit clash.
Kohli was batting on 44 off 60 balls and had Ajinkya Rahane (20 batting) for the company during a stand of 71 for the fourth wicket as India ended the fourth day on 164 for 3 in pursuit of a world record chase of 444.
Having been set a mammoth target, India lost Shubman Gill (18 off 19) to a contentious catch before skipper Rohit Sharma (43 off 60) and Cheteshwar Pujara (27 off 47) brought about their own downfall to make it 93 for three in 31st over.
Australia had declared their second innings at 270 for 8 midway into the afternoon session after an unbeaten 66 from Alex Carey.
Though the highest chase at The Oval is 263, Indian fans will not lose hope going into day five with Kohli and Rahane hardly facing any trouble with batting not looking so difficult on the penultimate day.
The pitch continues to have variable bounce but played better than the first three days.
Kohli looked in sublime touch and used his strong wrists to play the flick between mid-wicket and mid-on off the Australian pacers. He also whipped Nathan Lyon (1/32) for a crisp on drive before leaning into a straight drive off Mitchell Starc towards the end of day's play.
The Indian openers, Rohit and Gill, made a brisk start and were not afraid to go for their strokes against the formidable duo of Pat Cummins and Scott Boland.
However, at the stroke of tea, Scott Boland got one to bounce little extra from length and it flew from ball the shoulder of Gill's bat only to be lapped up by a diving Cameron Green at gully.
Rohit got most of his runs playing the pull-shot. The partisan Indian crowd really got going when he pulled Starc's second ball of his opening for a six over fine-leg.
Lyon was brought into the attack in the 20th over break the stand between Rohit and Pujara and he did exactly that.
Bowling around the wicket, Lyon bowled a full one around Rohits's pads and the India skipper went for the sweep shot only to miss it. Rohit reviewed the leg before call unsuccessfully.
Next to depart was Pujara, who played an uncharacteristic shot a non-existent ramp shot off Cummins, to get caught behind. Pujara too had played some confident strokes in his 47-ball effort.
Rahane, who did not take the field in Australia's second innings to protect his bruised finger, looked comfortable in the middle.
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In the first session, India picked up a couple of wickets but Australia chugged away to take extend their overall lead to 374 runs after reaching 201 for 6 at lunch.
Australia had to battle hard to get 78 runs in 26 overs from the morning session. On the hottest morning of the game, the pitch continued to play plenty of tricks with both seamers and spinners being in business.
Australia, who resumed the day at 123 for four, lost Marnus Labuschagne (41 off 126) in the third over of the day. The Aussie batter was not able to add to his overnight score as he edged a beauty from Umesh Yadav (2/32 in 12 overs) that pitched around off-stump and nipped away.
Considering the ball was 44 overs old, Umesh and Shami started the proceedings for India looking for reverse swing in dry and hot conditions.
The ball has been taking off or skidding through from a particular spot on length from the pavilion end and that kept the batters guessing on Saturday.
Mohammed Siraj, who has troubled the Aussie batters the most in the game, got one to kick off the from the spot and hit Green's right shoulder.
Ravindra Jadeja (3/45 in 18 overs) was brought into the attack after eight overs and his tactics were pretty clear: get the ball to turn sharply from outside the leg stump.
The ploy worked as Green, offered a big stride in order to play a forward defensive stroke but the ball bounced a tad more and hit the glove before bouncing on to hit the stumps
Day 5
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#TeamIndia fought hard but it was Australia who won the match. |
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India vs Australia, WTC Final Day 5 Highlights: Australia defeated India by 209 runs to win the World Test Championship. |
Australia becomes the first team in the history of the game to win all the major ICC events. This is the ninth time Australia have taken an ICC Trophy.
India lost their last seven wickets for 55 runs. There weren’t any demons in the pitch and India looked untroubled in the first half an hour. Virat Kohli chased a wide delivery outside off again and Steve Smith took a blinder at second slip. Scott Boland removed Jadeja in the very same over. Mitchell Starc managed to nip out Ajinkya Rahane. Then Nathan Lyon wrap up the tail with a 4-fer.
Final Result :-
Brief Scores
Australia: 460 & 270 for 8 declared
India: 296 & 234 all out
Follow highlights from the IND vs AUS 2023 WTC Final below