The World Test Championship (WTC) Final will soon begin on June 7 at the Oval, where India and Australia, the top two sides in the WTC 2021-23 points table, will take on each other. Ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, many experts of the game have laid down their analysis, team combination and game plan for both sides. Following the bandwagon, former England spinner Monty Panesar has picked an ‘X Factor’ of Team India for the summit clash.
Panesar has backed Cheteshwar Pujara to play a vital role for Team India in the upcoming battle mentioning that the Indian top order has been performing exceptionally well. The spin wizard reckoned that Pujara would make a significant impact while referring to Pujara’s performances for Sussex in the County Championship.
Panesar opined that Pujara’s defensive skills make him valuable against the Australian bowlers, particularly in challenging conditions. He also felt that Pujara has successfully adapted his batting technique to suit the specific conditions in England.
“The Indian top order is in form. The conditions will be similar to the Wankhede pitch which is fast and bouncy. My x-factor batter will be Pujara because he has done so well in these English conditions for Sussex. He is the guy who binds this batting line up together,” Panesar told PTI.
“He is good with his defence and if the ball is going to do a little bit, he can negotiate the Aussie bowlers and when the pitch is flat, the others can cash in with some attacking cricket,” he added.
Panesar also observed that Indian pacer Umesh Yadav would most likely play the summit clash due to his excessive pace and batting depth with options like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja down the order.
“India are the stronger side in my opinion on all fronts. As they will get extra batting options with Ashwin and Jadeja, I would go with Umesh as the third pacer. He is the guy Rohit can go to and say ‘I want you to bowl five overs at 140 plus and rough up the Australian batters’. You will need that extra pace,” Panesar opined further.
