The anticipation is building as the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 approaches, pitting two formidable cricketing nations, India and Australia, against each other in a battle for the ultimate title. With cricket experts sharing their predictions on the likely winners of the tournament, the legendary South African batsman AB de Villiers has weighed in on the matter.
During a show on Jio Cinema, de Villiers expressed his belief that the Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, stands as the frontrunner to clinch the prestigious WTC trophy. However, de Villiers initially acknowledged the challenge of picking a favorite between two strong teams.
However, he ultimately leaned towards India as the probable champions, highlighting their recent Test match victory against a strong England side at the Oval. India’s triumph in that match has undoubtedly injected confidence into the team, which they will carry into the WTC Final. De Villiers believes this win will give India an added boost as they prepare to face Australia.
“Very difficult to say who are the favorites. Both teams have not been playing a lot of Test cricket of late, but I can say that India, in their last Test match at the Oval, has a win against this very strong England team. So they will be taking a bit of confidence from that,” said De Villiers.
The cricketing maestro further speculated that the WTC Final might be a closely contested affair, potentially extending to the fifth day of the Test match. The wicket at the Kennington Oval is expected to offer favorable batting conditions, but de Villiers predicted that the Indian spinners would come into play during the latter stages of the game. This assessment underscores the importance of India’s spin bowling arsenal, which has been a significant strength for the team in recent years.
“India will come out on top on day five of the Test match. I think it might go all the way. It’s a good wicket to bat on, but I think the Indian spinners will come into play in the latter stages of the Test match,” he added.
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In reflecting on the last encounter between India and Australia in the longest format of the game, de Villiers pointed to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 series held in India. India emerged victorious in the series with a 2-1 scoreline, with one Test ending in a draw.
The Indian batter, Virat Kohli, stood out with impressive batting performances, including the highest individual score of 186 runs in the series and 297 runs in six innings. On the Australian side, Usman Khawaja claimed to be the highest run-scorer in the BGT 2023, amassing 333 runs in seven innings.
