07 June,2023 10:46 AM IST | London | mid-day online correspondent
Team India (Pic: AFP)
The finalists for the WTC final depended heavily on the results of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series held in February-March this year. Australia secured the top spot in the WTC 2021-23 standings with a percentage of 66.67% and 152 points, while India secured second place with a percentage of 58.8% and 127 points.
Team India will return to international cricket after a break of nearly three months and kickstart the 2023-24 season with the high-profile ICC World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia from June 7 to 11. It is noteworthy that Team India hasn't won an ICC trophy for ten years and will be keen to end its medal jinx.
Most Indian players, except for the ones who featured in the final of IPL 2023, were among the first ones to reach England ramping up preparations for the one-off match against the Pat Cummins-led side, which finished at the top of the WTC 2021-23 cycle. Talisman batsman Virat Kohli along with R Ashwin reached England last week, followed by skipper Rohit with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was included as a stand-by player in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
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The high-profile WTC Final will start from June 7 and will be played till June 11, with June 12 being a Reserve Day. Though the five-day match in the UK will start at 10 am local time, it will start at 3:00 PM IST. In Australia, the WTC Final will start at 7 pm for Australia's eastern seaboard, and 5 pm for Perth viewers. Here are the live streaming details for India vs Australia, WTC final.
Team India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin/Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat/Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Team Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
Wicketkeeper: Alex Carey
Batters: Steve Smith (c), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Travis Head
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Cameron Green
Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami (vc), Pat Cummins
The pitch traditionally offers true bounce and is good for batting but there is some uncertainty over its behaviour considering the WTC final will be first ever Test here in June. On the eve of the game, the pitch wore a green look but the grass could be trimmed going into day one. The overcast conditions are likely to suit Australia more while India would prefer bright sunshine on all five days.
