India face tough Oz challenge in bid to end ICC title drought

London: A formidable bunch of Indian cricketers will require a perfect blend of skill and temperament when it clashes with an equally-strong Australia in the World Test Championship final, starting Wednesday, with an aim to end a decade-long global trophy jinx.

India have been the most consistent side over the past two WTC cycles and also reached knockout phases of major white-ball tournaments over the last 10 years but a trophy has eluded them. The last major ICC trophy India won was way back in 2013 when it bagged the Champions Trophy in England.

Since then, the side has lost three finals and on four occasion it bit dust at the semifinal stage. It also made an exit at the preliminary stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup. The country has been pretty much driving the finances of the sport and considering the vast talent pool on offer, the expectations of dominating the game on field seem only fair.

Out of the six series India played in this cycle, their only series loss came in South Africa and that led to an unexpected change of guard with Rohit Sharma taking over the leadership role from Virat Kohli. They remained unconquerable at home, drew a hard-fought series in England before surviving a slight scare in Bangladesh. Winning the big titles is what defines the legacy of a team but whatever may be the outcome of the final at The Oval, India head coach Rahul Dravid's opinion about his team won't change.

"In the context of things, you look at this and you see this is the culmination of two years of work. It's a culmination of a lot of success that gets you here," said Dravid ahead of the title clash.

"Winning the series in Australia, drawing series here, being very competitive everywhere that this team has played in the world over the last five or six years. I think those are things that will never change just because you have or you don't have an ICC trophy," he said.

Need to learn from past mistakes: India ignored the conditions and went with their traditional strength -- two spinners – against the Black Caps in the final at Southampton two years ago but the move backfired.

As The Oval gears up to host its first ever Test in June in its 143-year existence, India are heading into the unknown and face a couple of key selection calls that might decide the fate of the game. It will always be a temptation to play both Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin in the same team but considering that it is only the start of the summer and pitches are fresh, there is a strong case for a fourth pace bowling option.

In the batting department, Rishabh Pant is not available to bail the team out in case of a top-order collapse. Therefore, the management needs to decide whether it need the 'x-factor' of Ishan Kishan or the more reliable wicket-keeping skills of K S Bharat.

The wily Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj pick themselves in the pace department and a call needs to be made between old-horse Umesh Yadav and all-rounder Shardul Thakur.

Squads:

Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner. Reserves: Mitch Marsh, Matt Renshaw.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, Umesh Yadav. Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.