World Test Championship Final — What holds the key for India to reign supreme?
Indian Men’s cricket team is basking in the glory of reaching the finals of the maiden World Test Championship (WTC) after a ‘coming from behind’ series victory in Australia and a defining knockout punch to England in India. The team is believed as one of the best Indian men’s cricket teams but the final frontier awaits the team.
As a Test cricket fan, I am more intrigued by pondering over India’s most probable XI in the WTC Final compared to pondering over the winner of the IPL. India is sitting on the top of WTC table as well as the ICC Men’s Test Ranking but India has a lot to ponder over before taking that flight to England.
Firstly, India has to be cognizant of the fact that it is a one-off match which will be played by India after a gap of 3 months from the recently concluded test series against England while New Zealand would have played a 2 match test series against England in England 4 days before the final. Also, though we should commend India’s resilience to win the series against Australia and England after losing the first test, India can ill-afford to expect such a comeback as it is directly the big finale of the Test Championship.
Secondly, India’s recent record in England in test match cricket does not instill too much confidence. India has lost 7 and won 2 out of the 10 matches played in England. Also, while playing in seaming conditions against New Zealand, India has lost 3 out of the 4 test matches while drawing one of them. Hence in terms of conditions and the opposition, odds are stacked against India.
Thirdly, from the recently victorious Team India, only two out of the many stand-out performers namely, Ravi Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja might find place in the playing XI of the WTC Final.
Hence, in my opinion, India does not go into the WTC final as the favorites to win but they can win the final if they have trust in their team selection and the preparation to execute the plans. I would try to analyze multiple probable XIs for the final with the assumption that all the players are fit and available for the WTC Final. I have also assumed that we will see a neutral pitch for the final which would assist swing/seam bowlers on all 5 days of the Test Match and Spinners would come into the match from the third day once enough footmarks are created on the pitch.
Probable XI — 1
Gill, Rohit, Pujara, Virat, Rahane, Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bumrah
Analysis: India goes into the match with 5 bowlers and a Pace/Spin combination of 4/1 which is the most common combination of teams in England. However, it becomes paramount for Rahane to calm the nerves of the dressing room and score runs because Hardik Pandya has not batted in Test cricket for 18 months and though Ashwin is a true warrior, his technique might be challenged in the swinging condition against the pace attack led by Boult and Southee. India will not have the luxury of Washington Sundar’s gritty knocks lower down the order. Hence, India’s batting might crumble very quickly in a scenario where Pujara and Kohli get dismissed early. However, the bowling looks strong enough to take 20 wickets in the match.
Probable XI — 2
Gill, Rohit, Pujara, Virat, Rahane, Pant, Sundar, Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bumrah
Analysis: This could be a possible combination if India has enough confidence in Sundar as a capable batsman in English condition to bat at no. 7 replacing Hardik Pandya. India also would lose on a pace bowler and would have to go in with a Pace/Spin combination of 3/2 which might backfire if the pitch offers little or no assistance to spinners in the first 3 days. It will be a huge call and a showcase of trust in Sundar’s batting abilities by the captain if India goes with this playing XI. Also, it would add more pressure on the pace bowling unit.
Probable XI — 3
Gill, Rohit, Pujara, Virat, Pant, Hardik Pandya, Sundar, Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bumrah
Analysis: This playing XI would mean that Virat does not have confidence in Rahane though he has backed Rahane time and again and it would be an extremely brave call if India goes in with this playing XI. It would put added pressure on Virat as India’s lower middle-order might get exposed too soon if he gets out cheaply. However, if analyzed purely on basis of the current form of the players, it could be the best Playing XI with 6 bowlers and still 8 batsmen who have test centuries. However, it could shatter the confidence of Rahane who has performed really well in England in the 2014 tour and has recently led India to a memorable Boxing Day test match win in Australia by scoring a special hundred. Dropping Rahane could be a gamble which could spur up huge controversies if Indian batting suffers a collapse.
Probable XI — 4
Rohit, Pujara, Virat, Rahane, Pant, Hardik Padya, Sundar, Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bumrah
Analysis: It seems like a playing XI with an assumption that Gill falls for a duck on the first ball of the Test match. This could be a probable XI if Kohli is so concerned about his and Rahane’s form with the bat that he wants the extra cushion in batting from Washington Sundar. I believe it would be extremely unfair on Gill to be kept out of XI after his knocks in Australia. And that would be because of concern of the form of Virat and Rahane. I believe it could be a blunder in captaincy by Virat Kohli because that would clearly send a message to young guys like Gill in the team that when presented with a conundrum, Virat prefers reputation above form and talent.
In my opinion, India needs to go with the Probable XI- 1 or Probable XI -2 depending on the pitch as it looks the most balanced possible XI and also suited for the conditions. That makes it necessary for Rahane to be in the best of forms if India wants to win the final. Hence, in my opinion, looking at the situation, a lot depends on the mindset and preparation of Rahane if India wants to have a good chance to win the trophy. In such a scenario, in terms of preparation, it would not be a bad idea if either the test specialist players like Rahane, Pujara, Ashwin, Ishant themselves request or BCCI suggests them to skip the IPL and play few matches in the County season in England. It will allow them to be far better prepared and acclimatized to the English conditions. After all, as per the press conferences of Virat, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and surely the Test Cricket fans would appreciate the move if team management decides to go ahead with this plan by properly communicating the requirement from Individual players to come on top in the ultimate test of the team.
~Parth Joshi, an avid cricket fan, dreams to pick brains of Mr. Harsha Bhogle and Virat Kohli
