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Harbhajan Singh pointed out team India’s lack of preparation prior to the ICC World Test Championship final 2023 (WTC) final against Australia on Wednesday, June 13. The former Indian cricketer highlighted that India’s 2-1 win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 gained them ‘fake confidence’ as it came due to ‘bad pitches’ in India.
India entered the WTC final as a world no.1 Test team and with a lot of confidence gained from their triumph in Border-Gavaskar. But it all came crashing down at The Oval from Day 1 as India suffered an embarrassing 209-run loss on Day 5, June 11.
India’s think-tank had a tough decision to make with the bowling combination at The Oval’s green pitch. And to everyone’s shock, the world no.1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was not in India’s playing eleven for the WTC final. However, despite winning the toss, the Indian team was on the back foot from Day 1 as Pat Cummins-led side dominated in every area.
Indian team seemed totally out of clues to adapt to playing conditions at The Oval. Harbhajan highlighted that Rohit Sharma’s side lacked the fresh experience of working hard for five days.
“You cannot give yourself that fake confidence after playing and winning matches on bad pitches where the ball starts spinning from ball one,” Harbhajan told Star Sports. “You will have to develop a habit of working hard for five days. Only then you will find yourself prepared better for these big matches.”
Harbhajan, who took 95 wickets in 18 Tests against Australia, also slammed poor spin-friendly pitches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said that India played the final with four specialist pacers but they had no experience of playing on overseas pitches similar to the Oval.
“Fast bowlers do not get to bowl much on these pitches, spinners are used right from the first over. There are a lot of things we should rectify,” Harbhajan said.
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