London [UK], June 7 : Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal reflected on the exemplary gesture that the Indian team showed by wearing black armbands to show their support for the victims of the Odisha train accident as they engage in a highly competitive battle against Australia in the World Test Championship 2023 Final at the Oval, London on Wednesday.
The Indian team stepped onto the pitch wearing black armbands as a tribute to the lives lost in the Odisha train accident. On June 2, due to the derailment of two passenger trains and a good train that collided with each other near Bahanaga Railway Station in Balasore.
While speaking to ANI, IPL chairman Dhumal, "That was a very unfortunate incident and all of us are feeling the pain and the misery the family had to go through and for that the boys have shown exemplary gesture and we are hoping that justice would be done."
Rohit Sharma and co. are looking to claim their first WTC title after failing to clinch it for the first time against New Zealand in 2021. India qualified for the second successive time after claiming the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia earlier this month.
He said, "I don't think it can get better than this. The kind of weather we are having I think it will be a great game of cricket. It is not a small thing to get into the final consecutively for two editions and given how are boys have been performing we are hopeful of lifting the cup. We are here to wish all the best to Team India."
Coming to the match the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first against Australia.
After the toss, Rohit Sharma said, "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 also revealed his desire to bowl first if he had won the toss, "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."
India (Playing XI): 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 (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
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