India and Australia come together to show solidarity towards Odisha accident victims during WTC 2023 final

India and Australia are clashing against each other in the much-awaited World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final on June 7 at The Oval. Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first after which he cited that the overcast conditions will help the bowlers to get extra movement.

Meanwhile, all the players from both sides were seen donning black armbands, and they also held a moment of silence in honour of the unfortunate Odisha train tragedy victims in India. The incident took place on June 2, 2023, in the Balasore region of Odisha when the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express derailed while travelling in the direction of Chennai. The fans of both teams praised this heartwarming gesture from the cricketers on social media.

The pitch won't change too much: Rohit Sharma 

After the toss, Rohit revealed the reason behind dropping the no. 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin and said that he has been a match-winner for the team but the conditions at the Oval are not suitable for the spinners much.

"We are going to bowl. The conditions and also the weather are overcast. The pitch won't change too much. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Ravindra Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner. He (Rahane) brings a lot of experience, he's played 80-odd Tests." Rohit said.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins also talked about the pitch after losing the toss and said, "We would have bowled as well. Hopefully day four and five, there's a bit of spin. You think it suits his bowling, he'll be a key weapon. We've been here for about 10 days. Pretty fresh, weather has been nice, we haven't missed a session."

India’s Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

Australia’s Playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.