Based on its history, the Kennington Oval in London is probably the best place to bat in the UK. Former India bowler Harbhajan Singh thinks that the Indian hitters will enjoy making runs on day two of the World Test Championship Final against Australia, which is still going on.
After asking Australia to bat first under a cloudy sky, the new-ball bowlers got off to a good start. Siraj got Usman Khawaja out on zero when he was hit by a ball. After David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne got through the storm, they both left in quick succession. At one point, Australia was down to 76 for three.
After that, it was all about the hitters from Australia. Travis Head and Steve Smith put up 251 runs together for the fourth wicket, and Head, who bats left-handed, made his first hundred on English soil. Australia hit 327 for three at the end of the day after two hard-fought rounds.
Harbhajan thinks that after India finishes Australia’s first game, the hitters will enjoy hitting the ball on day two because the wicket at the Oval is getting better to hit on every session. Even though the Indian bowlers said a lot with the new ball during the first hour of day one, Harbhajan thinks that Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, who are both in good form, won’t be worried when it’s their turn.
“The Oval is probably England’s best place to play, and it will get better as the game goes on. I don’t think it will be hard for India to bat on this pitch.” The weather has cleared up, Gill and Kohli are in good shape, and there aren’t many clouds,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube account.
Given the situation, it was the right choice not to play Ashwin.
When Rohit Sharma announced the starting XI and Ravi Ashwin wasn’t on it, there was a lot of talk about it all over the internet. The Indian team had to take the pain of it because the number one Test bowler did not get picked, and India lost runs all day long.
Harbhajan said about the same thing: “The only thing that went India’s way was the toss. After that, it was all Australia.” India didn’t have a good hold on the game at any point. The team was picked well, given the circumstances, but it didn’t work out the way they had hoped. The lines kept getting bigger and shorter at the same time.”
Harbhajan, who has played in more than 400 Tests and has more than 400 wickets to his name, said that Indian bowlers weren’t able to make the most of the conditions because of how the ball was acting early on.
“The Australian bats were playing well from behind. India did not use the new ball to its best advantage. There was a lot of carry, and the ball hit the edge a few times, but that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t lead to a wicket. The mistake wasn’t made by just one bowler; all four seamers made the same mistake, Harbhajan said.
