Veteran India speedster Mohammed Shami was unhappy with the wicket of the Oval where the WTC final between India and Australia are taking place. According to him, the pitch was not ready fully for a game of this importance. The wicket has been constantly offering uneven bounce but it was slightly better on day four than the first three days.
“In Test matches, pitches tend to get slower as the game goes on. But I don’t think this pitch was fully prepared for World Test Championship final. It was not fully ready but day by day it does change in a Test match,” said Shami.
“Test matches should be decided on day five and in the last session. That is what called a proper Test. In the last four years, we have played well against Australia. Both have fought hard. We will have to bat well tomorrow.”
”We believe we can win the match. We have performed well overseas not just in England. We will come together to win this. 280 runs if you bat well it is gettable.” Rahane did not take the field in second innings after being hit while batting on Friday. But Shami said he is fully fit to bat”, Shami added.
Earlier, the Kangaroos were in a commanding position to seal a win in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final when they declared on 270/8 and gave India a huge total of 444.
On a wicket like Oval that continues to offer variable bounce, Kohli was seen in a fantastic touch and made unbeaten 44 runs in just 60 balls. Rahane on the other hand is on 20 as the duo is looking to make a huge turnaround in the game.
Brief scores: Australia 469 and 270/8 decl. in 84.3 overs (Alex Carey 66 not out, Mitchell Starc 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3-58, Mohammed Shami 2-39) lead India 296 and 164/3 in 40 overs (Virat Kohli 44 not out, Rohit Sharma 43; Nathan Lyon 1-32, Scott Boland 1-38) by 280 runs.