Ricky Pointing picks three players that could win the WTC Final for India
- Doug Mattushek
- 1 June 2023
Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami hold the keys for India when they face Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final, according to legend Ricky Pointing.
Ricky Pointing believes Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami are India's matchwinners when they take on Australia in the WTC Final next week.
The World Test Championship Final is set to be contested at The Oval from 7 June, featuring the top two teams from the Test table in a once-off Test.
While the Australians will have one eye on the upcoming Ashes series, they cannot afford to look past a dangerous Indian Test outfit who have lost just one Test in their last six outings.
Speaking on
The ICC Review podcast, Ponting recognised three key figures in the Indian lineup that could take the game away from the Baggy Greens.
"The Australian team will be talking about Virat, no doubt about it, and they'll be talking about Pujara... they're the two," said Ponting.
"Pujara has been a thorn in their side a lot in the past, and in Australia, and this wicket will potentially be a lot more like an Australian pitch. They know that they'll have to get him early.
"They also know that Virat over the last few weeks is probably just about back to his absolute best, albeit in T20 cricket.
"He told me that the feeling he's getting right now is that he's almost back to his best, and that's an ominous warning for the Australians going into a one-off game."
Recent IPL exploits aside, last time he was in Test whites, Kohli struck a superb 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the experienced Pujara has scored over 2000 Test runs against the men from Down Under.
As for the bowlers, Ponting says Shami will have to carry the bowling attack on his broad shoulders if India are to trouble Australia's batters. In the last Test series against Australia earlier this year, Shami amassed figures of 9/254 at an average of 28.22 on the spin-friendly pitches of India.
"I think he has to step up or try and take his game to another level if India are going to win this game," continued Ponting.
"When you talk to the Australian batters as well, they understand how good Shami is whether it's new ball or old ball, whether it's in Australia or India.
"They know the skillset he's got and how dangerous he can be. It's going to have to be him."
