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Australia’s Day 1 WTC Performance Leaves India Reeling

Australia’s Day 1 WTC Performance Leaves India Reeling: The first day of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final began with India dropping heavy bowling bombs on the Australian batsmen. Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja all contributed effectively until the 50th over.

Crushing Australia’s top order in the form of Usman Khawaja, David Warner, and Marnus Labuschagne, India’s trail was on a pleasant path, but everything eventually worked out to Australia’s benefit. The 251-run partnership between Travis Head and Steven Smith helped the Aussies retain a strong balance on the pitch.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE BEHIND TEAM INDIA’S POOR PERFORMANCE?

Given the cloudy weather conditions, Rohit Sharma chose to bowl first after winning the toss. It initially helped, but after the weather turned sunny, India’s seamers were seen getting a hard smash from Smith and David.

Since Australia has five in-form left-handed batsmen in David Warner, Usman Khwaja, Travis Head, Alex Carey, and Mitchell Starc, the question here arises as to why Sharma did not select at least one off-spinner bowler.

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ALSO READ: WTC 2023 Final: Is Umesh Yadav Scripting A Big Defeat For Team India?

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INDIA’S BOWLING COACH STATEMENT

When asked why Sharma didn’t choose a seamer instead of Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey explained that the team management decided to drop Ashwin after assessing the conditions on the morning of the match.

“You can always say in hindsight that playing an extra spinner would have been helpful,” said the coach, “but looking at the conditions in the morning, I thought that having an extra seamer would be beneficial.” Dropping a champion bowler like Ashwin is always a difficult decision. He is without a doubt a world-class bowler.”

CONCLUSION

At the end of the first day of the WTC game, Australia secured a favourable position with Smith and Head’s 251 partnership. Their unexpected shock to India on Day 1 suggests that Day 2 will favour the Australians, and it will take a significant effort from India’s bowlers to counter Australia’s aggressive gameplay.

Head is now in the lead with an unbeaten score of 146 runs, while Smith has also come close to his century with 95 runs. Australia’s undefeated gameplay has allowed them to finish day one on a high note, scoring 327 runs and only losing three wickets.

Image Credit: News18

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