The WTC final has undoubtedly taken several unexpected turns. It all started in India’s favor, but the partnership of 285 runs between Steve Smith and Travis Head flipped the match upside down. After a record-breaking 4th wicket partnership at the Oval, Australia got a big score of 469-10 by the end of the day.
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Currently, while this article is being written, on day 4 the score of India is 164-3. And it is completely in the hands of Kohli and Rahane to make it there to win. However, there is a lot we need to understand before keeping any hope.
What went wrong?
There is no doubt that Australia managed to get a good total in the first innings. However, the bowling performance of the Indian team was not as bad as the batting. Rahane certainly deserves a lot of praise. Whatever hope India is having in this match it is only because of him.
Bad Form of Pujara continues
There was a time when Pujara was compared with “The Wall” in the past, due to his consistency. However, lately, his performance has dropped. In the last 28 test matches, his batting average has been only 29.7. His batting average was over 50 when he was at his peak. Now it has gone below 50. If he had scored runs, then India would have been in a much better situation.
Rohit missed out on Captain’s Knock
In the 2nd innings, Rohit certainly got a good start of 43, but to compensate for the bad score of the first innings, certainly more was required. He really needs to consider working on his footwork, because the lbw saga continues for him.
How can Rahane and Kohli make India win the WTC final?
Rahane has a huge amount of experience of being in these types of situations. The only sad part is that, every time he misses his special ton, after playing a great innings under pressure. We even saw that against South Africa in the past. No doubt, if he and Kohli both score a quick century, then India has a big chance to win the match, on the last day.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed, and hope that the partnership of Rahane, and Kohli works.
