India has been behind the 8-ball ever since they gave away 469 runs in the first innings of the WTC Final at the Oval in London. However, despite valiant innings from Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane Indian batters fell way short of Australia’s total and were bowled out for 296 on Day 3 of the test match.
The Indian team is now trailing behind 296 runs after the Kangaroos scored 123 runs for the loss of four wickets on Friday. With six wickets still left and World No 1 batter Marnus Labuschagne firmly on the crease, the lead could go beyond 350 or even 400 on Saturday.
If India are to have any chance of winning the WTC final, they will have to break a 121-year-old record set in 1902. The highest score by a team in a fourth inning at The Oval is 263, chased down by England against Australia in 1902. Moreover, only six teams have chased more than 300 in the fourth innings of a match in England.
However, it appears that the Indian team is mentally prepared to chase a big target on the fourth and fifth days of the Test match. Speaking at the post-match press conference on Friday, India all-rounder Shardul Thakur said his team can chase a target of 450 runs and more.
The Indian star said,”Well, cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total and this one-off game, especially ICC finals, you never know, I mean, who can handle the pressure better out there, one good partnership when you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that,”
“Last year England chased 400 here and they did not lose too many wickets. So that’s a positive sign for us. Whatever they put up on the board, it’s too early to make any predictions. We see a lot of times in Test cricket that game changes within an hour. So yes, we like to be optimistic tomorrow going on the field. And yeah, we’ll take it on from there,” Thakur added
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Updated: 10 Jun 2023, 01:33 PM IST