Former England skipper Nasser Hussain feels India have an edge over Australia in the World Test Championship final and that they can win in any condition.
“I think India, as they showed in Australia, can win in any conditions,” Hussain said. India will take on Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval from June 7.
Hussain said India can learn from past mistakes and secure their first ICC World Test Championship title, having missed out on the inaugural title to New Zealand. He said India should go with their tried-and-tested formula of two spinners and two seamers. “It helps with the balance…if the weather is good and if the sun shines at The Oval, they can go with their formula of two spinners, two seamers, and have (Shardul) Thakur as a third seamer. If you look back at the last World Test Championship, I think India read the conditions wrong. The lights were on all five days, it was grey, miserable, and cold. New Zealand didn›t play a front-line spinner,» he said.
«India played two, and I think seam dominated, swing dominated. India have played some good cricket at the Oval. They beat England there last time in a really good game. I think it›s a pretty fair venue,» he added. He said Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin offer more than just a bowling threat. The experienced pair have scored eight Test tons between them, and Jadeja reached 104 in India›s last red-ball match in England in 2022. “I would go for Jadeja and Ashwin for batting depth. Then you can bat all the way down. Then you can play your best seamers, Jadeja bowled beautifully there against England last time.