ICC World Test Championship Final: "It's Very Much A Possibility" - Ravi Shastri Feels India Can Pull Off A Record Run Chase

ICC World Test Championship Final: “It’s Very Much A Possibility” – Ravi Shastri Feels India Can Pull Off A Record Run Chase

by Sai VaitlaJune 11, 2023

Last Update on: June 11th, 2023 at 10:52 am

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that the Rohit Sharma-led team can pull off a record chase against Australia on Day 5 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Ravi Shastri pointed out that strange things have happened in cricket in the past.

Australia set up a mammoth target of 444 runs for India after declaring their second innings on 270 runs for the loss of eight wickets. The Men in Blue played with a positive attitude during the run chase. India ended the penultimate day’s play with a score of 164/3.

We Have Seen Strange Things – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri highlighted that skipper Rohit Sharma and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara threw their wickets. Shastri said that Rohit and Pujara batted well before getting out.

“It’s very much a possibility. This game throws up strange things; we have seen strange things happen in this game. It’s going to take a world record chase,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.

Also read: 2024 T20 World Cup To Move Out Of United States And West Indies? ICC Confirms Venue For Marquee Event

“What has amazed me is the way that the pitch has played. Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara will be kicking themselves for throwing the wicket away when they were batting well,” he added.

India got off to a decent start in the chase and scored 41 runs for the first wicket. Shubman Gill was dismissed in a controversial manner during Scott Boland’s bowling. Rohit and Pujara added a 51-run partnership for the second wicket. However, both batters got out in back-to-back overs.

The Pitch Has Eased Out – Mohammed Shami

In a post-match presentation, Mohammed Shami said the team will go for the run chase to win their first ICC title in the longer format of the game.

“The pitch has eased out, the sting was gone, at least for today, which made batting a lot easier. The way Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane batted, they have been in no trouble. The fluency is there, they have scored pretty freely,” Shami said.

Also read: Watch: Cameron Green’s One-Handed Screamer To Deny Ajinkya Rahane A Well-Deserved Century

“Now it’s a case of coming out tomorrow and weathering the storm in the first session of play. That’s the session for me. If there is any sting on that surface, it will be in that first hour till the effect of the roller dies out,” he added.

Ajinkya Rahane came to the crease when the score was 93/3. Virat Kohli looked at his best with the bat and dominated Australia’s bowlers. The former Indian captain scored an unbeaten 44 runs off 60 balls.

Also read:It Is Hard On Ravichandran Ashwin: Harbhajan Singh Takes Shot At Indian Team Management Over Decision To Not Play Spinner In WTC Final