LONDON: It was early and it was cold. By the time the Indian team got to The Oval on the eve of the World Test Championship final, the temperature had risen to 12 degrees Celsius. Risen because it was colder before that. The wind was blowing across the ground and India skipper Rohit Sharma looked like he had been dragged out of bed for the press conference. Perhaps waking up early counted as warm-up too.
While talking about the pitch, the India skipper made his point: "I didn't have a chance to see it today. 9.15 was the press conference, never thought it will be so early."
He said it with a smile and was joking but the match is scheduled for a 10:30 am start and that is 30 minutes earlier than usual. If conditions remain the same read 'cold, overcast and windy'India's two-spinner theory will go out of the window and they will have to play four pacers instead.
"It looks like there will be a bit of help for the seamers, definitely," said Sharma. "With the overhead conditions as well, it's going to assist seamers a fair bit.
I don't know how drastically but the pitch changes quite a bit in this part of the world. Like, when we played the last Test here, it looked very similar to this. And then as the game went on, as the day went on, it got better and better, slower and slower. And reverse swing came into play as well on Day 5. So, yeah, we're going to consider all those factors and see what will be the right combination for us to go."
For now, India are holding their cards close to the chest because, as Rohit said, "That's a common answer, I think."
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 07, 2023-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 07, 2023-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.