WTC Final 2023: What The Oval’s History Says… | leader

The final match of the World Test Championship between India and Australia starts tomorrow, June 7. It is hoped that this fight at The Oval will be a tight one. Although this ground is known as the Oval, its real name is Kennington Oval. Let’s know before the match what the statistics of the matches so far say… (WTC Final 2023)

The Oval is the second largest cricket ground in the world. 104 Test matches have been played here so far. In England summer starts from June. The end of this season is the month of September; But this ground is being played for the first time in the month of June. Looking back over the last six years (since 2016), the team’s batting average has been rising in a remarkable pattern. (WTC Final 2023)

The first innings average here is 269. The average has gone up to 280 in the second innings, while the average has increased to 326 in the third innings. The batsmen’s average per day has increased to 28.26 on the first day, 31.70 on the second day and 32.18 on the third day. This means that as the Test match progresses, the pitch of the Oval has become conducive to batting. (WTC Final 2023)

The last four matches at The Oval have been played at the end of the summer in the month of September. In the last 30 years, only two (2012 and 2017) Test matches have been played in August. Home team Surrey have won all three Championship matches played at the Oval since 2023. Interestingly, Surrey batted second on all three occasions. Interestingly, the fast bowlers have taken 90 wickets in all the three matches.

Australian batting momentum

Australian batsmen have dominated batting in the second edition of the World Test Championship. Their top six batsmen average 46.07. Usman Khawaja is the highest run-scorer this season. He has scored 1,609 runs. His average is 69.91. In this he has hit six centuries in different countries of the world. Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head have scored over 1000 runs and their averages are over 50. Considering Head alone, he has hit 80 runs for every hundred balls.

Indian batsmen at number six

In the second season of the ‘WTC’, the Indian batting ranks sixth. The Indian run average is 33.74. Interestingly, not a single Indian has been able to reach the 1000 mark in this session. Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, India’s three greats, were seen struggling for runs on the red ball last year. Of course, India have played their matches at home which have been very low-scoring, one reason for that. Moreover, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the team for a while, so their averages look low.

Australia thrashed India by 36 runs in Adelaide. At that time, there was no left-handed batsman in the Indian team. Which did not spoil the length of the kangaroo bowlers and allowed them to bowl at one stage. In the next Test, when Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja came into the team, the picture changed drastically and India, who lost the first Test by 8 wickets, won the second Test by 8 wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja is the only left-handed batsman in India’s potential team this year as well. Ishan Kishan could get a chance as a left-armer in a right-handed middle order of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane. But the question is whether India will take the risk of letting Ishaan perform on such a big stage.

Oval ground records:

• Total Matches : 104
• Home Team (England) Wins : 43 times
• Wins by batting first: 37 times
• Away team win : 23 times
• Draw Match : 37
• Highest score: 1938 England v Australia 903 for 7
• Low score: England all out for 44 runs against Australia

What will the pitch look like?

The Oval holds a huge record in Test cricket. This ground is among the top 5 in the list of most test matches played. However, no guess can be made about the pitch here. With grass on the pitch, it is predicted that the fast bowlers will get help initially. The weather in England is always changing. That is why both bowling and batting keep getting help on the pitch. This is why winning the toss is crucial.

The pitch is likely to dry on the last two days of the match. So spinners can get help. This has been seen in previous tests. That is why most teams opt to bat after winning the toss.

Pitch or green carpet?

The final between India and Australia will be played on a green grass pitch. The pitch is so green that it is a pitch that some part of the field does not understand. The batsmen must not have been too happy to see this pitch; But on the other hand, the fast bowlers will be bursting with joy. This pitch is nothing less than gold for fast bowlers in overcast conditions. Here the ball is likely to swing strongly.

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