World test championship is a test tournament that began in August 2019, first edition was played between 2019 to 2021. In the first edition, New Zealand made its name on the champions board. However, the similarity between WTC Finale 2021 and WTC FINAL 2023 is that India earned their spots in both finals. The second finalist is Australia, with six tournament trophies in their cabinet already, will this number round up to 7?
We will be discussing all the strengths of both finalists and which team has the better chance of making it.
Squad Showdown: Team Rosters
Both teams have announced their respective squads for the WTC Finale 2023. Pat Cummins is to Captain Australian Team while Rohit Sharma is to lead Team India.
Here is the Australian Team for the grand finale.
- Pat Cummins ©
- Steve Smith (VC)
- Scott Boland
- Alex Carey
- Cameron Green
- Marcus Harris
- Josh Hazlewood
- Travis Head
- Josh Inglis
- Usman Khawaja
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Nathan Lyon
- Mitchell Marsh
- Todd Murphy
- Matthew Renshaw
- Mitchell Starc
- David Warner
Australia initially announced the 17-men squad for the Ashes and WTC Finale 2023, however, this squad will be needed to cut down to 15 men under ICC rules and regulations.
Here is the Indian team for the World Test Championship 2023 Final.
- Rohit Sharma (Captain)
- Shubman Gill
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- Virat Kohli
- Ajinkya Rahane
- K L Rahul
- KS Bharat (wk)
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Axar Patel
- Shardul Thakur
- Mohd. Shami
- Mohd. Siraj
- Umesh Yadav
- Jaydev Unadkat
On 5 May, K L Rahul was ruled out of the WTC Final due to a thigh injury. On 8 May, BCCI announced Ishan Kishan as a replacement for the injured Rahul.
Analyzing Indian Team
India got struck by many injuries during this World Test Championship season including their top gun Jasprit Bumrah. This didn’t hurt them as much as it will in WTC FINAL 2023. Shreyas Iyer also got out of the squad because he got injured.
Kohli was known as the finest captain in the Test cricket arena, He resigned as a captain after the South African series, which India lost by one-two. With his resignation, all of the burdens came on the shoulders of Rohit Sharma. Rohit is not as aggressive as Kohli was on the field. According to some fans, his cool is good for Team India’s future while some think otherwise. What do you think?
They played England, South Africa, and Bangladesh away during the World Test Championship 2021-23 season. While they hosted New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia. They won against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Australia. They lost one series against South Africa by two-one and Drew one against England by two-two.
Their Batting
Team India’s best batter on numbers appears to be Cheteshwar Arvind Pujara, who top-scored for India during the WTC cycle of 2021-23. Who aggregated 887 runs at an average of 32.85. He has also made 1 century and 6 fifties.
However, Virat Kohli, The superstar of India was off-color during this cycle. He made only 869 runs at an average of 44.84. I know these are prolific numbers for any ordinary batsman but you know that we are talking about Virat Kohli, where standards meet the sky. Only one century during the sixth series is not the Kohli his fans are used to seeing.
Kohli has returned his form in the last few months. Will he perform for India in yet another big situation, WTC Final 2023?
Shubman Gill is also a rising star in India, though his test numbers do not represent how good of a talent he is. He is currently the Top scorer of IPL 2023 miles ahead of other batsmen. The talent he possesses is a treat to watch for anyone. But the question is will he be able to convert his batting abilities to a match-winning performance at WTC Final 2023?
Rohit Sharma is a great batter, with his opening and captaining too, Team India will rely on him remarkably. Though his record in tests in English conditions isn’t very influential. His career batting average is 45.66 while batting in England he averages 42.66
One other thing to notice is Rohit Sharma is not performing like he used to. When asked Sunil Gavaskar about Rohit’s performance he answered
“Honestly, I would also say that Rohit should maybe also take a break for the time being, and keep himself fit for the World Test Championship [final]. [He can] come back again for the last few matches, but right now, [he should] take a little bit of a breather himself.” – Sunil Gavaskar
Should he take a break though?
Their Bowling
Jasprit Bumrah was not even considered for selection because he is currently fighting a back injury. Team management wants to oversee him as they want him to be fully available for the ODI world cup this October-November.
They have 5 seamers in their squad, Shami leading the attack. With Muhammed Siraj, they have quite a balanced pace bowling attack since Siraj bowls with aggression and has great control over his line and length.
India’s top wicket-taker during this fight for the WTC Final 2023 has been Ravichandran Ashwin. Off-spinner took 61 wickets at a phenomenal average of 19.67. India’s second-best got injured, yes it is Jasprit Bumrah, who had taken 45 wickets in only 19 innings.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are the ones when wickets are required. India’s Captain gazes at them and says “If you can’t, no one can”. For India to win the WTC Final 2023, they need to provide consistent breakthroughs. Will they?
Overall India’s bowling lineup is balanced with experienced and youngsters. On the surface of The Oval, their bowling lineup will make sure that Aussie batters don’t feel comfortable.
Their Possible XI
Former Indian Head Coach and Test batsman Ravi Shashtri picked this probable Indian XI for the WTC Final 2023.
- Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
This is the most likely Indian XI for the Finale.
Team of Resilience – Australia
If you ask 10 cricket fans around the globe what comes first into your mind when the name “Australia” is taken, 9 out of them will say “Trophies”. With 6 trophies in their locker room. They are wiggling forward for 7th. Will they get it?
This question will get answered in time. Ricky Ponting said
“I think it will be a bit more similar to an Australian wicket than it will be to an Indian wicket, therefore I’m giving a slight advantage to Australia”
So according to the former Australian captain, Australia has a slightly higher advantage because of the conditions that Oval Cricket Ground has. They have one more advantage over India, and that is their pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.
Their Bowling
This trio of Pat, Starc, and Hazlewood is so good that we can’t decide who is leading their pace attack. Let’s look at the stats of this edition to settle on this, The Aussie Captain Pat Cummins has 53 wickets at an average of 21.22 while Starc has 51 wickets at an average of 27.27.
Josh Hazlewood played only four matches, taking 10 wickets at an average of 29.70. He missed quite several matches courtesy of injuries. He flew away from this year’s IPL as well due to soreness, but his scans in Australia didn’t show much damage, the reason why he was included in the Australian squad for WTC FINAL 2023.
Australia is confident that Josh will make his return for WTC FINAL 2023. Another aspect of Aussie bowling is their spinner, Nathan Lyon. Extremely underrated, he is the top wicket-taker during this edition of the WTC cycle, not only for Australia but overall. He took 83 wickets at an average of 26.97. Lyon will be the key as always for Aussies
Scott Boland and Cameron Green are the other pacers on which Australia will rely heavily. Will Australia bag this WTC Trophy?
Their Batting
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne usually carry the Aussie batting lineup. Warner isn’t in form but without him performing, I don’t feel like Australia will make its batting going. So he will be the key to providing Australia a head-start from the opening position with Usman Khawaja.
They will not have any problems settling on English surfaces since Aussie conditions are similar to England’s conditions.
The top batter for Australia during this cycle is Usman Khawaja, Averaging 69 for his 1608 runs. He will be key to the success of Australia with Steve Smith.
Middle-order batters include Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, and Steve Smith (vice-captain). Mathew Renshaw is unlikely to play but the Middle order looks strong.
Batting and bowling look strong for Australia. The only concern is their lower middle order since they are missing out on All-rounders. Though Pat Cummins can whack a bit but is yet to be considered an All-rounder. Cameroon Green is the only All rounder in their squad but he doesn’t bowl too often.
Will their batting lineup make a dent in India’s bowling?
Expected XI
Ricky Ponting named Australian probable XI for the WTC 2023 Final.
- Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
The final word
We can’t certainly say who will win the WTC Final 2023 but we can say that this battle will be legendary. Slight advantage to Australia as we have mentioned. But what are your thoughts on the winner?
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