A Test match at The Oval in the month of June. It does add a layer of mystery since the venue will be hosting a Test match during this month for the first time in its history and therefore, there’s plenty of interest surrounding the kind of pitch it will provide for the ICC World Test Championship final starting June 7.
India and Australia will decide their respective playing XIs based on whether it’s a flat wicket or if it offers pace and bounce. Both the teams have quality options to choose from but the final combination will depend on what nature of the pitch.
While the mystery over the pitch remains, former England spinner Monty Panesar thinks that the Rohit Sharma-led India will be better off playing two specialist spinners as he predicted The Oval to dish out a flat surface.
“It is one pitch in England you tend to play two spinners,” Panesar told news agency PTI. “If the ball turns, there is bounce as well for the spinners. In my view the wicket will be flat. In these conditions, it will suit India if they play two spinners. We have already seen Australia struggling against spinners, especially from India.”
“The weather has been hot and we are seeing the ball turning even in some T20 Blast games in London. I also don’t see them keeping grass because they would want the match to last at least four days,” he added.
Panesar, who himself was a left-arm spinner, played 50 Tests between 2006 and 2013 for England and took 167 wickets in them including 12 five-wicket hauls.
The 41-year-old has picked India as the stronger of the two WTC finalists and advised them to pick Umesh Yadav as the third pacer with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj being the automatic picks.
“It will also be interesting to see who the seamers will be as they have lot of options there as well. India are the stronger side in my opinion on all fronts. As they will get extra batting options with Ashwin and Jadeja, I would go with Umesh as the third pacer. He is the guy Rohit can go to and say ‘I want you to bowl five overs at 140 plus and rough up the Australian batters’. You will need that extra pace,” Panesar said.
He also thinks reverse swing will play an important role and it’s India’s game to lose. “The ball does reverse at The Oval and we have seen how good the Indian bowlers are when it comes to reverse swing. They can get the ball to move more than the Australian pacers. It is for India to lose this game. They have all going for them and they just need to perform as per their skills,” Panesar said.
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