Cold keeps India weighing up combination at The Oval

The conditions may tempt playing four pacers in WTC final versus Australia, but Rohit knows nature of pitch can change

- ASHISH MAGOTRA

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."