India's Cheteshwar Pujara is dreaming of bringing an end to the ICC trophy drought that has extended to a decade now. Pujara reiterated that the team and players are prepared to secure a victory over the mighty Australians in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
"We have had very good preparation so hopefully this time we will cross the line," Pujara told the ICC.
"Most of the guys have played enough cricket here and some of them have played County cricket too. And you need that experience...we know each other's strengths and we have played a lot of cricket against Australia as well so we know what to expect from the opposition team," he added.
Pujara is the most experienced Indian batter in the WTC squad in English conditions when it comes to Test cricket. Apart from several tours to England with the senior men's side, the right-handed batter has also played a lot of County cricket. His experience and knowledge coupled with his technical ability will be crucial for India in the WTC final against a fiery Australian bowling attack.
It will be for the first time in two decades that India and Australia will lock horns in an ICC tournament final. The last time these two sides locked horns in an ICC final was in 2003 when Australia defeated India in the ODI World Cup final. The 2023 WTC final will be played between June 7 and June 11 at The Oval, London.
India finished runners-up in the last edition of WTC as they lost the final against New Zealand. This time, Rohit Sharma's brigade would look to cross the final hurdle and end their ICC trophy drought.
Having said that, India is staring at a herculean task of not only beating a team that consists of world-class players and plays great cricket as a cohesive unit but also conquering a hostile territory where success has been far and few over the years.
For any visiting team, English conditions present a massive challenge as acclimatising to the weather in itself is very challenging. The seaming conditions that favour fast bowlers make the task of batters extremely taxing. History proves that Team India has struggled to earn positive results in England, especially in Test cricket.
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