Indian primary pacer Mohammed Shami feels that the Kennington, Oval pitch was not fully prepared to host the World Test Championship final as the pitch had a variable bounce throughout the game, as the batters found it hard to adjust to the surface in Oval.
Earlier, Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur too expressed his concern about the pitch conditions, as the surface had some variable bounce in the first three days of the ultimate world test championship final and the surface got better on the fourth day, as it looked better for batting.
Speaking to the media, after day 4, Mohammed Shami said that the pitch was not prepared for the World Test Championship final, as a usual test surface tends to slow down as the game progresses which differs in this one-off test cricket in England.
“In Test matches, pitches tend to get slower as the game goes on. But I don’t think this pitch was fully prepared for World Test Championship final. It was not fully ready but day by day it does change in a Test match.
“Test matches should be decided on day five and in the last session. That is what is called a proper Test,” Mohammed Shami said.
The pitch had no real assist to the pacers and spinners on the fourth day, as the Indian top order batters gifted their wickets after being well settled in the middle, as the experienced Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara got out after playing rash shots to put Indian team trouble, just before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stitched a 71-run partnership to keep India’s hope on the final day.
We Have Performed Well Overseas Not Just In England – Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami believes that the Indian team will take a lot of confidence from the previous series win against Australia in its backyard and said that the team has the belief to chase down the total as the team has done well in overseas conditions and also said that Ajinkya Rahane is fully fit to play on the final day.
“In the last four years, we have played well against Australia. Both have fought hard. We will have to bat well tomorrow. We believe we can win the match. We have performed well overseas not just in England. We will come together to win this. 280 runs if you bat well it is gettable. He is batting well. In sports, you get hurt but you keep playing,” Mohammed Shami added.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are expected to play a pivotal role for the Indian team in the historic run chase, as they would look to pile some runs and give Indian lower middle batters a real chance to chase down the maiden ICC World Championship final title.