On the first day of the WTC final, India made a significant decision to exclude Ravichandran Ashwin, the top-ranked Test bowler, and elected to bowl against Australia at the overcast Oval. Both teams paid their respects to the victims of the tragic train accident in Odisha last weekend by wearing black armbands.
It was Mohammed Siraj who provided the breakthrough for India, dismissing Usman Khawaja for a duck early in the first hour with the new ball. The length delivery posed problems for Khawaja, who struggled to move forward and ended up edging it to the wicketkeeper KS Bharat.
In the ongoing Test Championship cycle, India secured their spot in the final by winning all three home series, including a victory against Australia, and triumphing in Bangladesh. As for the runners-up from the 2021 final, they faced a 2-1 series defeat in South Africa and a 2-2 draw in England. Australia, on the other hand, defeated England, West Indies, and South Africa in home series and clinched another win during the Test series in Pakistan, with a 1-1 result during their tour of Sri Lanka.
Also Read: WTC Final 2023: India Won the Toss and Elected to Field First against Australia
Playing XIs
India XI: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland