Team India had a challenging outing on Day 1 of the World Test Championship final against Australia, as the latter scored 327/3 at Stumps, with Travis Head striking a superb century. While Head remained undefeated on 146 off 156 deliveries at the close of the day, star batter Steve Smith continued to frustrate the Indian bowlers from the other end, as he was only five runs away from hitting three figures in the innings.
India had made a solid start to the game when skipper Rohit Sharma chose to bowl at The Oval. In only the fourth over of the contest, the side took an early wicket of Usman Khawaja, dismissing him for a duck.
David Warner (43) was also bowled shortly before lunch, and Mohammed Shami provided India a significant breakthrough at the start of the second session by dismissing the dangerous Marnus Labuschagne on 26.
While it appeared like India had the upper hand, Head put up a counter-attacking performance against the pacers. Meanwhile, Smith bided his time at the crease, occasionally punishing wayward deliveries. The pair went the entire day undefeated, and former India captain Sourav Ganguly wasn’t pleased, claiming that Rohit let Australia back into the game with “easy runs.”
“India will be disappointed.” They had Australia at 76/3 then and let them off the hook. I am aware that partnerships occur in cricket.
There will be a batting squad that will come back and perform admirably. “I thought India started well just after lunch but lost the feel a little bit as the game progressed,” Ganguly remarked after Australia reached 170/3 at tea.
“I thought they let Travis Head off very lightly.” I know he’s been in excellent form and has scored a lot of runs, but they were still 76/3. “I think Rohit Sharma’s field placements at that point probably allowed some easy runs to happen, and Australia is now in a good position,” Ganguly added.
Both teams are vying for their first WTC crown, with India hoping to avoid a second consecutive heartache in the final.
Both teams are vying for their first WTC trophy, with India hoping to avoid a second consecutive heartache in the final; the team was defeated by New Zealand in the first final in 2021.
