WTC Final: Australia’s poor record at the Oval, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill’s form and Jadeja’s Midas touch could tilt balance in India’s favour

India will take on Australia in the World Test Championship final at the Oval this week. Going into the game both sides have had their fair share of ups and downs throughout the two-year cycle. In the bilateral Border-Gavaskar Trophy series since 2014/15, India has had the upper hand.
However, the one off-Test to decide the best Test team in neutral conditions is a different ball game altogether. Former cricketers Ricky Ponting and Wasim Akram said Australia are slight favourites going into the game. But India too has had their fair share of success in English conditions and against the Aussies in recent times. Here are the reasons why India can snatch the game from the Aussies.
Australia’s terrible record at the Oval
Australia, who played at The Oval in 1880 in what was the first-ever Test in England, has managed a mere seven wins from 38 Tests at the famous South London venue. Their success rate at the venue is 18.42 per cent, their poorest at a ground in England. The kangaroos have won just twice at the Oval in the past 50 years
India’s recent sweet memories at the Oval
India, on the other hand, haven’t fared too well at the venue either having won two, drawn seven and lost five games. But the Rohit Sharma-led side will be boosted the 157-run win over England here in 2021, which was its first victory at the venue in a Test match in 40 years. Going into the one-off game India can draw inspiration from that memorable victory.
The king is back
Virat Kohli ended his red-ball century drought earlier this year against Australia at Ahmedabad. With the ton, the 34-year-old has scored a century in all three formats after a dip in form. He is also coming off centuries in the IPL. Kohli has a good record against Pat Cummins’ side as well. He scored 1,979 runs at an average of 48.27 against Kangaroos. He also has slammed eight tons against them.
Shubman Gill vs Mitchell Starc
The young right-hander has been in terrific form in all formats this year. In the recently concluded IPL, he has taken his game to a whole new level. Like Kohli, Gill also slammed a ton in the Ahmedabad Test. Mitchell Starc who is one of the lethal new-ball bowlers in the world game has had a tough time against Gill. The left-arm seamer is yet to pick Gill’s wicket. If he can start aggressively against Starc and not let him settle into rhythm India will be at a significant advantage.
Man on top of the world-Ravindra Jadeja

Whatever the 34-year-old has touched has turned into gold since his return from the knee injury. Jadeja was the player of the series in the last Border-Gavaskar trophy in India. Though the conditions might be completely different in England, the wounds inflicted Jadeja with the ball will still be fresh in the mind of Aussie batsmen. He picked up 22 wickets in the series. Even with the bat he has been in fabulous form in recent times and made some handy contributions in the middle order.