Rohit Sharma's brigade sets sights on ending a long-standing drought of an ICC title as the high-octane World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia kick started at the Oval on Wednesday (June 7). Both the teams are equipped with star-studded players including the likes of India's Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Australia's Steve Smith and Pat Cummins.
‘Smith, the best Test player in current generation’
Although the match is underway which saw Rohit Sharma winning the toss and electing to bowl first but right ahead of the match India's batting juggernaut Kohli cautioned India to be wary of Smith's challenge. While showering immense praise on Australia's batting maestro, Kohli termed Smith the best in current generation. Kohli also said that Smith's consistency with the bat is unmatchable and he has never seen anyone else doing that in the last 10 years.
“Steve Smith, according to me, is the best Test player of this generation. He has displayed that his adaptability is absolutely brilliant. You take any cricketer of this generation... in 85-90 Tests, he has an average of 60 which is quite unbelievable. The consistency and impact with which he scores runs, I haven't seen anyone else doing that in last 10 years. Definitely, Steve Smith, along with Marnus Labuschagne, are their main players in the batting order because they control their batting lineup,” Kohli told Star Sports.
"Smith has always done well against us and he has performed in England. You want to dismiss him as soon as possible because he can have a match-winning impact,” Kohli further added.
Follow INDIA vs AUSTRALIA's WTC Final's live scores here
Talking about the match, when Australia's scoreboard read 73/2 at the end of 23 overs, Smith is intact on crease on 2 off 7 alongside Marnus Labuschagne (26 off 61).
After opting to bowl first, India got off to the best start possible as Usman Khawaja walked back to the pavilion on a duck to leave Australia teetering on 2/1. However, David Warner (43 off 60) paired with Labuschagne and steadied Australia's boat before falling prey to Shardul Thakur on the fourth ball of the 22nd over.
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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