Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting Credits: Twitter

The much-awaited ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia got underway on Wednesday (June 7) at the Oval in London.

And the way the first day of the Test panned out, it is safe to say that the Indian team-management has made a huge mistake in their assessment of the pitch. The Oval pitch was the major talking point before the start of the game. Just before the start of the Test, the pictures of Oval pitch went viral, making many say that it might be a bowlers’ paradise.

While the Oval has traditionally been a good batting venue, the pitch wearing a green look made many believe that the bowlers will enjoy bowling on it especially on day one. However, the Indian bowlers did not enjoy the best of  outings on day one as Australia made merry.

Ricky Ponting’s pre-match prediction:

India started well with the ball after Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. Mohammed Siraj dismissed Usman Khawaja for a duck before Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami dismissed David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne respectively to reduce Australia to 76 for 3. But from thereon, Australia thoroughly dominated the proceedings.

They did not lose a single wicket in the entire day after losing three early wickets as Travis Head and Steve Smith put Australia in the driver’s seat. At stumps on day 1, Australia were on 327 for 3 with Head unbeaten on 146 and Smith unbeaten on 95. And the way the first day has panned out, it has very much proved Ricky Ponting right.

Travis Head
Travis Head. Image Credits: Twitter

Just before the start of the Test, the former Australia skipper revealed a startling observation. While the Indian team-management and several other experts were expecting the Oval pitch to assist the pacers, Ponting said that the pitch looked dry. The legendary captain said that although the pitch had good amount of grass, the pitch looked dry to him. Ponting made the remark after India did not include Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI.

“India have made a mistake of picking a bowling attack just for first innings of the game. Australia have many left-handers; Ashwin would trouble the left-handers more than Jadeja. I saw the grass, yes there was grass but the deeper I looked, it seemed dry to me,” Ricky Ponting said on-air on Star Sports.

Also Read: ICC WTC Final 2023: Who Will Be The Winner If India vs Australia Clash At The Oval Ends In A Draw