India skipper Rohit Sharma sounded confident while talking about conditions at the Oval ahead of the highly-anticipated ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia. The much-awaited clash is scheduled to be played from June 7 at the Oval in London.
Many believe that the fate of the game will be decided by the contest between the Indian batsmen and Australian bowlers. Australia have a formidable attack for the upcoming game. Captain Pat Cummins will lead the pace department that also boasts the likes of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Michael Neser while ace spinner Nathan Lyon will lead the spin attack.
As far as India are concerned, their batting lineup will have some big names like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane. And ahead of the big game against Australia, captain Rohit Sharma made it clear that Team India are confident of putting up a good show with the bat at the Oval.
“The weather keeps changing a lot, so you have to keep concentrating for longer periods of time and that is the challenge of this format. You have got to keep concentrating for longer periods of time. You will get that intuition when to take the bowlers on, and you have to be ready for it,” Rohit Sharma said about the conditions while speaking in an event hosted by the broadcaster.
“You have to understand what your strengths are. It is nice to know the pattern of scoring runs here as we know that this is one of the best batting wickets in England. You get value for your shots, the square boundaries are quite quick, and it is about giving yourself the best chance of having success here,” he further added.
Rohit Sharma on Test cricket:
Rohit Sharm was further asked by session moderator Harsha Bhogle about how he rated Test cricket in general. In response, the India skipper said that Test cricket is right at the top as he called the format the most challenging one.
“Right at the top. It is the most challenging format. It keeps challenging you as a player and as a leader now. You look forward to that. For me, it is just right at the top. For our team as well you know. In the last 3 or 4 years we have had good success all around the world. It is just about crossing the final hurdle,” said the opening batsman.
Rohit will have the opportunity to end India’s long wait for an ICC trophy. India have not won an ICC trophy since MS Dhoni led the team to victory in 2013 Champions trophy. Rohit will be keen to end the trophy drought for Team India.