The two Test powerhouses – Australia and India – will take on each other in the World Test Championship final at the Kennington Oval, London from June 7. Both of these two teams were dominant forces in the 2021-23 cycle and they will be looking to clinch the prestigious crown.
While India will be looking to end their ICC title voodoo, Australia will be aiming to get their hands on the WTC title. We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form of Australia: D W L L D
Australia had lost the Border-Gavaskar series by 2-1 against India earlier in the year. Australia’s pace battery of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will hold the key but they will miss the services of Josh Hazlewood, who has been ruled out. Furthermore, the lack of game time could be a cause of concern for the Aussies.
Current form of India: D L W W W
Making a switch from T20 cricket to the Test format will be a challenge for the Indian players. However, players like Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami have been in good form and they will hold the key.
Head to Head: Matches: 106, Won by Australia: 44, Won by India: 32, Draws: 29, Tied: 1.
Australia holds the advantage in the head-to-head battle against India.
Players to watch out for: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami will hold the key for India.
Pat Cummins, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, and Nathan Lyon will be the crucial players for Australia.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan.
Standby players: Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mukesh Kumar.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (C), Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser.
