Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said that he looks forward to seeing the intense battle between Australian skipper Pat Cummins and Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli in the World Test Championship final in the Oval starting on June 7.
Pat Cummins has the upper hand against former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, as he dismissed five times by the Australian so far, and with the pitch in England usually favouring the pace bowlers, it would be high octane clash in England.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that the Oval Pitch is usually good to play and the surface might favour the pace bowlers as takes place at the end of the summer and feels they won’t have a flat pitch for the final and asserted that he looks forwards to see a duel between Kohli and Cummins.
“The pitch is usually good at The Oval and has bounced. I feel fast bowlers will have some assistance as the fixture takes place in the first week of June and it the deck won’t be overly flat. The battle I’m looking forward to watching is Pat Cummins bowling to Virat Kohli. This is a duel that has produced riveting contests in Australia,” Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra said that Cummins had better plans for Kohli in the previous encounters and feels the England pitch might favour the Australian skipper. Pat Cummins will return to lead the Australia team in England as he missed the last two Tests and the ODI series against India due to his mother’s illness and subsequent passing.
Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj Are No Brainers – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes that Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj are sure-shot starters irrespective of the conditions in England and said that if India opts to play with both Ashwin and Jadeja they can go ahead with another pure pacer Jaydev Unadakat or Umesh Yadav rather than going with Shardul Thakur.
“When it comes to fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are no-brainers. If both Ashwin and Jadeja are playing, it makes no sense to play Shardul Thakur and a proper fast bowler in Umesh Yadav or Jaydev Unadkat can play. If both of them aren’t playing, then Shardul Thakur is a no-brainer as this team prefers an all-rounder lower down the order,” Aakash Chopra added.
India will take on Australia in the 2023 World Test Championship Final at Kensington Oval on June 7, 2023, and will look to end the ICC title drought in England. Team India lost the inaugural edition of the WTC Final in 2021 against New Zealand.