The wait is over and the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia got underway at the Oval on Wednesday (June 7). Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first in the high-octane finale clash against Australia.
Meanwhile what caught everyone's eyes was when players from both the teams including officials were seen sporting a black armbands. Players donned the black armbands to pay respect to the the people who lost their lives in the horrific train accident that took place in Balasore, Odisha last week.
Players from both the teams were also seen observing a moment of silence for the deceased before the national anthems were played.
“The team mourns the deaths and offers its deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those who tragically lost their lives,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.
Notably, 260 people lost their lives and more than 1000 got injured during a brutal train collision, three trains including two passenger and one freight last week.
Talking about the match, Rohit Sharma took everyone by surprise when he announced India's playing XI which found Ravichandran Ashwin's name missing from it. Rohit said that it is always tough to leave Ashwin as he has been a match-winner for the team over the course of so many years. He went on to say that one got to do the things that's needed for the team.
“We are going to bowl. Just the conditions and also the weather being overcast. I don't think the pitch will change too much. You have to play good cricket and come out on top. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner for us over the course of so many years. But you got to do the things that's needed for the team and eventually we came up with that decision. He (Rahane) brings a lot of experience, he's played 80-odd Test matches and he's done well for the team. He's been out for a while but but I don't think the experience that he has can change all of that,” Rohit said.
Follow INDIA vs AUSTRALIA's WTC Final's live scores here
Ashwin's absence took everyone by surprise as he has been sizzling form in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia in earlier in February this year. In the four-match series which India won 2-1, Ashwin snared the most 25 wickets and was adjudged the Player of the series for his brilliant show with the ball and bat as well.
Meanwhile, Australian skipper Pat Cummins said,"We would have bowled as well, I don't think it makes too much of a difference. Hopefully day four and five, there's a bit of spin. You think it suits his (Boland) bowling, he's in the same spot all day long. This wicket has a bit of grass, he'll be a key weapon. We've been here for about 10 days. Pretty fresh, weather has been nice, we haven't missed a session, feeling good."
India's Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia's Playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
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