What happened the last time India played a Test at Kennington Oval?
Team India are set to cross swords with Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final for the 2021-23 cycle in London on Wednesday (from June 7-11). The Kennington Oval will play host to this historic clash that will determine the world's second ICC Test champions.
Australia have the most test appearances at the Oval, having played 38 matches at the venue. India, meanwhile, have played 14 games there, winning only twice and losing five times with seven games ended in a draw.
The last time India played a Test match in London was in September 2021. The Kennington Oval hosted the fourth fixture of the five-match Test series against England, which was shared 2-2 by the teams.
With the series level at 1-1, India faced England at the Oval for the fourth Test, where the visitors were put into bat first.
Chris Woakes (4/55) and Ollie Robinson (3/38) helped England bundle out India for only 191. The hosts then took a 99-run lead after posting 290 in their first innings.
Rohit Sharma scored a memorable hundred when India played last time in Oval in Tests.
127 runs from 256 balls when India were under lots of pressure in the match against Anderson, Robinson, Woakes.
https://t.co/M2atyQAdrt
India needed a special performance by their batting unit and that's when Rohit Sharma took the onus and dug in for the long haul.
Rohit completed his first overseas century in Tests with a huge six and truly announced his peak in the format. His stellar knock of 127 saw India set the hosts a target of 368, which proved to be tough to overhaul even in good batting conditions.
England started their chase in a brilliant fashion as well when Haseeb Hamid and Rory Burns added 100 runs for the opening wicket. However, an inspired bowling performance saw the visitors coast to a 2-1 series lead.
With Umesh Yadav taking three wickets and Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja taking two each, India skittled out England for 210 and took the game home by 157 runs.
Australia slight favorites to begin with in the WTC final clash against India
It’s time for WTC 2023 Final! 🤩
Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli finally end India’s ICC trophy drought? 🏆
#WTC23 #WTCFinal #AUSvIND #CricketTwitter https://t.co/a3or3jbZUi
Given the seaming conditions that will be on offer in London, Australia will be slight favorites going into the summit clash against India.
With a renowned bowling attack which includes Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, the Aussie unit will look to dampen India's hopes. The Indian unit will have their task cut out under testing conditions.
However, the Indian team also possesses great quality and will look to end their ICC trophy drought.
It remains to be seen who comes out on top after five days of exhilarating cricketing action.