Star batter Virat Kohli feels that whoever –India and Australia — adapt better with conditions at The Oval will win the World Test Championship final, starting on Wednesday.
Kohli acknowledged the challenges posed by the pitch and urged his team to approach the game with caution and focus. The 34-year old emphasised the need for experience and flexibility to suit the conditions, highlighting that one cannot rely on past expectations of the pitch.
“I think The Oval will be challenging, we won’t get a flat wicket and batters need to be cautious. We will need to concentrate on our focus and discipline. So you need to have the experience to play as per the conditions and we cannot go in with the expectation that The Oval pitch will play as it always has. So we have to adjust and adapt, we have only one match in a neutral venue so whoever adapts better will win the match,” said Kohli on Star Sports’ ‘Follow the Blues’.
“This is the beauty of the World Test Championship, two neutral teams with no home advantage, so it will be very exciting to see how both teams adapt to the situation,” he added.
Notably, both Australia and India have struggled at The Oval ground, which has hosted 104 matches so far.
India has played 14 Test matches at this venue, winning two, losing three and drawing seven of them. The last time India played at The Oval, it won by 157 runs against England in 2021.
On the other hand, Australia has played 34 matches at this venue, winning seven, losing 17, and drawn 14 of them. The last time it played at The Oval, it lost by 137 runs against England in 2019.
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