Ravichandran Ashwin became the biggest talking point on the first day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final with Rohit Sharma opting to go with Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the world’s number 1 ranked Test bowler in Ashwin. The decision left the likes of Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly, Tom Moody and Michael Vaughan baffled, however, former India opener Aakash Chopra has defended Rohit’s call to go with four seamers and opt for Jadeja ahead of Ashwin.
Chopra pointed out that once India won the toss, given the conditions they were always likely to go with four seamers, and he also added that Jadeja has gotten the nod ahead of Ashwin in almost all overseas Tests in the ongoing WTC cycle.
As fate would have it, Rohit’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss didn’t pay dividends as they managed to get Usman Khawaja and David Warner early, followed by Marnus Labuschagne after the lunch break but Australia thoroughly dominated the play on Day 1.
Travis Head became the first batsman to smash a century in the final of WTC, and Steve Smith also smashed an unbeaten 95 in 227 balls, helping Pat Cummins’ side put up a total of 327/3 at Stump’s by the end of the play.
Given the fact that India had an advantage as they won the toss, many experts felt that Ashwin could have offered something different on a ‘bouncy’ track at the Oval, something the Indian pacer himself revealed to fans on his YouTube channel.
However, Chopra came out to Rohit’s defence by claiming that there was ‘no way’ Ashwin would’ve gotten the nod ahead of Jadeja once India won the toss.
Once India decided to bowl first (in case, India won the toss), there was no way they would’ve played Ashwin. Four seamers was the right way to go. And Jadeja has got the nod over Ash in almost all overseas Tests in this cycle…so, how and why did you expect anything different…— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 7, 2023
“Once India decided to bowl first (in case, India won the toss), there was no way they would’ve played Ashwin. Four seamers was the right way to go. And Jadeja has got the nod over Ash in almost all overseas Tests in this cycle…so, how and why did you expect anything different this time?” tweeted Chopra after Stumps on Day 1.
Ashwin’s benching was the major debate on the first day of the WTC final 2023, and with Australia ending the day in a commanding position it remains to be seen whether India can bounce back with some early wickets on Day 2.
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