Legendary Australia pacer Glenn McGrath isn't too concerned for India after the team tasted defeat in another ICC knockout match. McGrath highlighted that adapting to English conditions was always going to be challenging for players after playing Indian Premier League (IPL) for a couple of months.
''Sometimes, it can happen like that. Yeah, conditions in England are a lot different to what Indian cricket has been playing in. Sometimes that happens that way, it's called that bit of dressing room pressure,'' said McGrath, as quoted by PTI.
''Both teams haven't played a lot of Test cricket lately but that's the way it goes. You get on a bit of a roll going into that last day, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane needed to put on a big partnership. You lose an early wicket, that can happen. It's a one-off Test match. I wouldn't be too concerned,'' he added.
Team India's hopes of winning another ICC trophy came to a screeching halt after Australia thumped Rohit Sharma & Co. in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval on June 11 (Sunday). India ended up losing the summit clash by a huge margin of 209 runs. As a result, the wait for another ICC title elongated further for India.
Australia were the better team throughout the five days of the Test match as India fell behind the eight ball on the opening day of the final. From thereon, India was playing catch up but their dream of a miracle win came to an end after yet another batting collapse. Rohit & Co. were comprehensively beaten as they sustained a massive 209-run defeat in the Ultimate Test.
India's next assignment is against West Indies as the team will tour for a full-fledged bilateral series. India are set to play two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is on the tour of the West Indies starting July 12 post a long break after WTC final. The first Test of the new WTC cycle will begin on July 12 at Windsor Park, Dominica.
Two of the three-ODI series will be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados. One ODI and T20I each will be played at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad. Two T20Is will be played at National Stadium, Guyana. After that, the last two T20Is will be played at Lauderhill, Florida.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Exclusive: ‘Winning an IPL is even more difficult than a World Cup’ – Sourav Ganguly backs Rohit Sharma despite captaincy blunders in WTC final
Exclusive: Ganguly names young talents who are the future of Indian Test cricket after the Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma eras end
