IND vs AUS highlights, WTC final: Smith eyes 100 after Head slams ...

After a over from Siraj, sensational Shami has been brought back into the attack by Rohit. Yes! India have taken the new ball. “It's a double-edged sword,” Dinesh Karthik reacted after Rohit handed the new ball to Shami. Back-to-back five dot balls so far from Shami. He gets another maiden! AUS 301/3 after 81 overs.

Travis Head pushes the ball towards backward square leg and runs a single to bring up his century. He completes the milestone in 106 balls.

 Shami then bowls a bouncer, which not only beats the batter but the wicketkeeper as well and races away for a four. AUS: 238/3

Shami generates some movement, which beats the outside edge of Steve Smith, who then appreciates the ball. He then plays the next ball with soft hands and runs a double as the ball rolls past second slip. A total of four runs come in his over. 

Siraj continues from the opposite end, who continues to test the Aussies with short deliveries. AUS: 232/3 

Mohammed Siraj returns to the attack and he tests Travis Head with a barrage of bouncers. The first one floors Head, while the second knocks on his helmet. 

Meanwhile, Steve Smith brings up his half-century. It's been a marathon innings from the former skipper, who took 144 balls to reach the milestone. AUS: 226/3

Umesh Yadav bowls it full and straight and Stev Smith punches it past the bowler for a boundary.

He hits another one in the over, this time towards mid-wicket. AUS: 221/3

Steve Smith hits Umesh Yadav for a four as he offers some width. Gets on top of the ball and hits it on the bounce to send the ball square of the wicket.

Shami too leaks runs from the other end as Travis Head hits him for a four. Nicely guides it over the slips. Then hits the pacer for a six in the same direction. 

Head moves into his 90s. AUS: 212/3

Umesh bowls a tight over, just one run come in it. 

Shami continues from the other end and also manages to get an outside edge against Smith but it falls short before reaching Kohli at first slip. 

He had earlier hit Shami for a boundary in the over. AUS: 192/3

Travis Head hits a good length ball by Umesh Yadav for a FOUR. 

Six runs come from the over. AUS: 184/3

The action resumes post the Tea interval and Umesh Yadav leads the attack for India.

Jadeja continues from the other end. He is hit for a four by Travis Head as seven runs come from his over. 

Meanwhile, the pair of Travis Head and Steve Smith bring up the 100-run partnership. AUS: 178/3

Jadeja bowls the final over before Tea and one run come from it. Australia reach 170/3 at Tea, a good session for the Kangaroos as they were 73/2 at the end of opening session. 

Meanwhile Travis Head and Steve Smith have added 94 runs for the fourth wicket.

Back to back maiden overs by Umesh Yadav. 

Rohit sticks to Jadeja from the other end but he is yet to make any inroads. A single from his over. AUS: 164/3

Rohit Sharma reintroduces Umesh Yadav in the attack and he starts with a maiden over. 

Jadeja too keeps things quiet as two runs come from his. But it is wicket that India want. AUS: 163/3

Travis Head hits a length ball by Thakur for a four towards the cover region, which also brings up his half-century. He takes just 60 balls to complete the milestone. 

Seven runs come from the over, which is followed by Jadeja's over, who gives away one run. AUS: 161/3

Shardul Thakur bowls a good over, which results in one run. 

Jadeja continues from the other end and he is hit for a four by Travis Head. AUS: 153/3

One run come from Jadeja's over as AUS reach 148/3. 

Is India missing Ashwin? Could be looking at the flow of runs. Australia at the moment negate the bowlers comfortably as Smith and Head add 70-plus stand.

Siraj bowls a maiden over. 

Thakur continues from the other end, who once again oversteps, and bowls a length ball outside off, which takes a thick edge and flies over the slip fielders for a boundary. 

Thankur bowls another no ball in the over, before dropping it full, which is driven away by Steve Smith for another four. The final delivery is again pitched up and Smith flicks it towards the square leg region for another four. AUS 141/3

Another decent over by Siraj as three runs come from it. 

Shardul continues from the other end, keeps it tight and mixes his length very nicely. Smith manages to get a boundary against the seamer, plays it towards the square leg region, wide enough to beat the fielder inside the 30-yard circle. AUS: 125/3

Shardul Thakur is reintroduced in the attack and he starts on a strong note. He generates bounce and also gets the ball to move away from the batter.

Three runs come in his over, out of which one was a no-ball. AUS: 116/3

A single in the form of a leg bye and a single come in the over by Shami.

Siraj continues from other end, as Siraj bowls it slightly full, which is flicked for a boundary in the space between mid-wicket and long on for a boundary. That also brings up the 100 for Australia. 

The runs are coming but Siraj is generating plenty of movement as the ball hits Smith after pitching on the off stump line. AUS: 104/3

Travis Head gets another FOUR as Siraj bowls it full, the batter opens the face of his bat and knocks it through cover-point region for another boundary.

Shami continues from his end and Steve Smith now gets a boundary. A good length delivery on middle and leg and Smith plays it fine, which goes in the air but there was no leg-slip placed. 

The following delivery is a short one as Smith attempts to pull it. However, it settles in the wicketkeeper's gloves. A caught-behind appeal but the umpire isn't interested. The team also don't take a review, good, as TV replay confirms there was no bat involved. AUS: 89/3

A peach of a delivery by Mohammed Shami, which beats Labuschagne and knocks the stumps. Labuschagne falls for 26(62). 

Travis Head joins Steve Smith in the middle. AUS: 76/3

Umesh Yadav comes to bowl the final over before Lunch and just one run come from it. 

Australia reach 73/2 at lunch with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in middle. Labuschagne is batting for 26, while Smith is just seven balls old at the crease.

Shardul Thakur bowls it full and wide against Warner, who drives it through covers for a four. 

However, his stay comes to an end in the same over. Thakur changes his length and bowls it slightly short, cramping Warner for room. The left-hander tries to pull it towards fine leg but doesn't get the desired connection. KS Bharat dives to his left and grabs a good catch as Warner falls for 43(60).

Steve Smith is the new batter in. AUS: 72/2 

Shardul Thakur concedes two runs in his over. 

Umesh continues from the other end and bowls a decent over until the final ball, which is drifting on the pads. Labuschagne plays it fine behind the stumps for a four. AUS: 67/1

Another LBW appeal against Marnus Labuschagne by Shardul Thakur, and after some thinking Rohit takes the review. TV replay confirms the ball was bouncing over the leg-stump and India lose a review. 

Labuschagne is batting outside the crease, something India should take note of before taking a review. The previous review against him had similar outcome, but India were saved by the umpire's call. AUS: 60/1

Umesh responds strongly after being hammered for 16 runs in the previous over.

Meanwhile, Labuschagne takes another blow on his gloves, but this time the intensity is slightly less than the earlier one, which was against Siraj. AUS 55-1

Umesh is hit for a four by Warner. Drops it at length, which is nicely punched square of the wicket by the left-hander. 

Umesh then changes his side and comes around the wicket. However, Warner once again connects it well almost in the same direction, which results in another boundary. 

Warner then gets a top edge, which after a couple of bounces goes towards the third man fence. The final delivery also results in a boundary as 16 runs come in the over.

The pair of Warner and Labuschagne also bring up the 50-run partnership. AUS: 54/1

Shardul Thakur is also introduced in the attack and he is bowling full, trying to get the ball move away from the batter. 

Labuschagne connects one of them, which races past the bowler and the mid-on fielder for a boundary. AUS: 38/1

Umesh Yadav is introduced in the attack and he bowls a loose delivery against a settled Warner. Pitches it full, wide of off stump and Warner connects it for a four wide of the long-off region.

The bowler recovers well, and also get some movement in the air. Five runs come from his over. AUS: 34/1

Labuschangne manages to get three runs later in Siraj's over. Short of length, straight and Labuschagne shuffles across to play it towards mid-wicket. 

Warner then resists the remaining deliveries without troubling the scorers.

Siraj bowls it slightly short and it comes at a great pace and knocks Labuschagne on his gloves. The bat drops from his hand and he screams in pain.

Labuschange receives treatment and is once again ready to go.

Slightly wide by Siraj and David Warner opens his arms to whack it for a FOUR over third slip.

He then times is sweetly again on the on-side, which results in three runs. AUS: 16/1

Shami starts with a loud LBW appeal against Warner, but decides not to opt for a review. 

He then pitches it slightly full later in the over, which is timed sweetly by Warner and he completes three runs. 

The wicketkeeper then fails to collect a ball left by the batter in the fifth delivery, which results in a single in the form of byes. AUS: 8/1

Usman Khawaja is taking his time and the pressure was building, which results in his wicket. 

Siraj pitches it on the off stump line, length ball and it takes the edge of Usman Khawaja before settling in KS Bharat's gloves. He falls for 0. 

Marnus Labuschagne walks in. AUS: 4/1 in 4 overs. 

A back of a length ball by Shami and Warner jumps and gets on top of it. Plays it with soft hands and the ball rolls away towards mid-wicket. Warner runs a double. 

The second one has some bounce and it almost takes the edge of Warner's bat. Good stuff from Shami. AUS: 2/0 

Mohammed Siraj shares the new ball with Shami. He is mostly bowling it away from the left hander Usman Khawaja.

Meanwhile, two overs have been bowled and Australia are yet to open their account. AUS: 0/0

Mohammed Shami with a good start, gets almost every ball angled towards Warner, who as expected starts thing cautiously. 

Maiden over to start with. AUS: 0/0

It's a good toss to win and put Australia in the backfoot right from the word go. Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami have been enjoying good form and Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur will also hope for a strong show. 

The Australian batting line-up consist David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, and Pat Cummins. After them we move to the tailenders, which feature Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

Rohit Sharma: “We are going to bowl. The conditions and also the weather being overcast. The pitch won't change too much. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is 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.”

Pat Cummins: “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, feeling good.”

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

India: 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 are yet to beat India in a Test series in nearly 9 years. 

However, this one-off Test gives them a good chance to settle old scores and take away the beautiful mace.

Three players have been toiling hard at County Championship and they will play a key role in their team's success. 

Cheteshwar Pujara is the lone Indian among the three, while the other two are Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

If Rohit Sharma manages to lead the team to a World Test Championship title, it'll be the first multi team ICC trophy for India in 10 years. 

If India manages to do so, they will also be awarded a hefty prize money of $1.6 million.

Australia captain Pat Cummins is wary of climate activists disrupting the proceedings of World Test Championship in London. 

The Australian team busby  was stopped "Just Stop Oil" protesters near the venue as Cummins and Co. were on the way for training.    

Last week a similar group of protesters had held the England team bus when they were on the way to Lord's for the one-off Test against Ireland.

The same group had halted the world snooker championship and the English Premiership rugby final in recent months.

As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, taking cognizance of the recent disruptions by the “Just Stop Oil” protesters a back-up pitch has been prepared at The Oval.

While the chances of Ravichandran Ashwin being part of the playing XI remains uncertain, but if he is included we can see the carrom-ball specialist chasing a personal milestone. 

Ashwin stands three scalps away from completing 700 international wickets. He is currently the third-highest wicket-taker for India across all formats.

The last time India played at this venue they secured a handsome 157-run victory over England in 2021. This was under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. 

Australia, on the other hand, had endured a 135-run defeat in the 2019 Ashes Test at this venue.

India, who are visiting Oval after a gap of almost two years will hope for a repeat under new skipper Rohit Sharma. 

This is the second time, India have reached the finals of WTC final. The last time India endured a tough eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand.

Then Virat Kohli-led unit had started as the marginal favorite, considering the conditions in England. As expected a seamer, Kyle Jamieson rose to the occasion, and picked a total of seven wickets in both innings combined in a neutral venue – Southampton.

Apart from Jamieson, the Kiwi pace battery comprising – Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner – had dictated the proceedings folding India for 217 and 170 in both the innings.