Today is the first day of India’s match against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC), which will be held at The Oval.
India batting great Sachin Tendulkar believes that the spin-friendly Oval ground will inspire confidence in the Indian team, and he believes that their tweakers have the potential to become twice as dangerous if they are able to get “that drift” and make the ball talk in the air.
The batting guru claimed that the squad can take a lot of heart from the pitch issue since India has two fantastic spinners to chose from, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and that the team can choose any one of them.
The fact that the Indian squad will be competing at the Oval is sure to make them pleased. The Oval pitch is designed in such a way that it provides assistance to spin bowlers as the match progresses. Therefore, spinners will have a marginal impact on the game.
“It does not always have to be a turning track because sometimes the spinners rely a lot on the bounce, sometimes that little bit of zip that they get off the pitch, also on the overhead conditions, and it depends a lot on the shiny side of the ball,” the commentator said. “It does not always have to be a turning track.”
If they are able to acquire that drift, they will be able to make the ball talk while it is in the air even if the pitch does not come into play. According to Tendulkar’s website 100mbsports, “So, Oval is going to be good venue for India.”
India will come into the Oval with a good attitude because their most recent match at this venue ended in a resounding victory. In 2021, they defeated England by 157 runs, which was an impressive margin of victory. Tendulkar stated that the Indians would have fond memories of that match and that those recollections will urge them on.
“100 per cent. When you have experiences like that, the memories will stay with you forever. The Indian team is not likely to have forgotten that the previous time they competed there (at the Oval), they had a very successful performance. They were victorious, and as I’ve said before, a victory like that leaves you with happy memories for a long time,” remarked Tendulkar.
“Bumps and scrapes need some time to heal. But Australia is a stunning team because they have a well-rounded group of players. There are some individuals that have been there for a considerable amount of time now, and there are also some newer faces.
“There is a healthy balance of young blood and seasoned professionals. According to Tendulkar, Australia has a history of being competitive, and he predicts that once they reach the finish line, regardless of whether or not they have a complete team, they will be extremely competitive.
According to Tendulkar, the lengthy time spent playing for their respective counties that Cheteshwar Pujara and Marnus Labuschagne recently had would be beneficial for their sides when it comes to the big game.