WTC Final: Rohit Sharma gets emotional during national anthem, IND & AUS wear black arm bands for Odisha Train accident victims

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first in the World Test Championship Final at The Oval, on Wednesday.
However, Sharma was spotted getting a tab bit emotional when the Indian national anthem was being sung.
Furhter, both the teams are wearing black arm-guards in remembrance of the victims of the Odisha train accident.
The two teams also observed a minute’s silence before start of play as they paid their homage.
“The team mourns the deaths and offers its deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those who tragically lost their lives. To express solidarity with those affected, Team India will wear black armbands,” the BCCI said in a statement released.
Rohit Sharma got emotional during the national anthem. (Screengrab)
The Rahul Dravid-coached side went in with a four-pronged pace attack and preferred Ravindra Jadeja over seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Deeming it as a tough decision, Rohit said, “He (Ashwin) has been a match-winner for us, it is not a great occasion to leave him out, but you have got to do what is best for the team in the given conditions.” India included both Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav in the side and also picked KS Bharat as wicket-keeper, leaving out Ishan Kishan.
Earlier, India qualified for the 2023 World Test Championship Final second on the points table with 127 points and 58.8 Points Percentage System (PCT). While they lost the series in South Africa and drew a five-match series in England, India enjoyed a near perfect record at home with wins against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia and another away series triumph in Bangladesh.
Australia on the other hand, qualified top of the table with wins in all three home series during the 2021/23 cycle including a 4-0 Ashes thumping. Other than this, the Pat Cummins-led side regered a 1-0 in Pakan and a 1-1 draw in Sri Lanka before losing 2-1 in India.
This is India’s second World Test Championship Final appearance of the two so far. The Virat Kohli-led side had lost to Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the 2019/21 cycle’s summit clash.
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
Australia XI: Pat Cummins (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland.