Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels India will bat with ease at the Kennington Oval when their chance comes in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. The 42-year-old also observed that nothing, apart from the toss, went India's way on day one of the fixture.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma sent Australia into bat after winning the toss and picked four seamers in Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, and Umesh Yadav. After losing three wickets in two sessions, Australia asserted their dominance and ended Day One at 327-3, headlined by Travis Head's unbeaten 146.
Harbhajan feels Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli's good form bodes well for India; hence, they shouldn't experience much of a challenge while batting. While the 103-Test veteran backed the team selection, he criticized the bowlers for not getting it right.
"The Oval is perhaps the best pitch to bat on in England, and it will be better to bat on as the game goes on. I don't think India will have any difficulties batting on this wicket. Gill and Kohli are in good form, the weather has opened up, and there is not much cloud cover as well. Only the toss went in India's favor, after that it was all Australia. India did not have a grip on the game in any of the sessions. Considering the conditions, the team selection was right, but it did not pan out as hoped. The lines kept getting wider and the length also kept dropping."
'India did not make the most of the new ball': Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan observed how comfortably Australia batted on the backfoot and lamented the Indian bowlers' inability to force errors. He added:
"The Australian batters were comfortably playing on the back foot. India did not make the most of the new ball. There was a lot of carry on offer and the ball beat the edge a couple of times as well, but that does not matter unless it results in a wicket. It was not one bowler who made the mistake, all four seamers made the same mistake."
Australia will hope to further solidify their position on day two and win the WTC mace.
