'It was under prepared' - Shardul Thakur makes startling revelation about The Oval pitch after Day 3 of WTC Final

India are in a precarious situation in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final 2023 as Australia are leading by 296 runs at stumps on Day 3, with six wickets in hand. The Rohit Sharma-led side got bundled out for 296 runs in the first innings after Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51) bailed their team out when India were reeling at 152/6. Coming into the game with everyone questioning his selection over Ravichandran Ashwin, Thakur played a crucial innings and registered his third consecutive fifty-plus score at the Oval.

Notably, he became the third batter to achieve the feat after the legendary Sir Don Bradman and Allan Border. Talking about the pitch at the end of the day’s play, the all-rounder stated that it was a bit underprepared. He put forth his views on the basis of the uneven bounce the pitch has been generating from Day 2 itself.

“The pitch is surely different. Last time we played the pitch was doing something and everyone knows if there is cloud cover in England the ball moves around. As the game went forward last time and the team started taking rollers it became flat. But this time it was not anything like that. It was under prepared I felt going in to the game. Like we saw yesterday and today it was a bit up and down," Thakur was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Furthermore, talking about India’s chances in the game, Shardul Thakur said that cricket is a funny game and one good partnership can help chase down 450.

"Cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total, especially in an ICC final. One good partnership and you can chase down 450 or maybe more than that. We saw last year England chased 400 here and they did not lose too many wickets,” Thakur concluded.

India are on the verge of losing their second consecutive WTC final

India are once again staring down the barrel in a WTC final for the second consecutive time. Notably, they had lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in the final of the inaugural edition in 2021. The world’s no 1 ranked side has a herculean task of bundling out Australia under a lead of 400.

Thereafter, the Indian team will try chasing down a mammoth score in the fourth innings to solely claim the coveted Test mace. However, should they end up drawing the game, both India and Australia will share the coveted trophy. Hence, it will be vital that the Indian top order produces some good batting display, if they wish to have any chance in the ongoing WTC final.