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WTC Final: India's Rohit Sharma reveals key to success on English tracks ahead of Australian challenge

The World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia, starting from June 7 at The Oval, is expected to be a mouth-watering context between the two cricketing giants. Ahead of the clash, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma speaks at length about the Test match.

WTC Final: India's Rohit Sharma reveals key to success on English tracks ahead of Australian challenge snt
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First Published Jun 5, 2023, 12:05 PM IST

His sole Test century outside of the subcontinent occurred at the Oval in 2021, and India skipper Rohit Sharma claims that while playing in English conditions, batters seldom feel "in" and instead acquire an understanding for when to attack the bowling of the opposition.

The Indian captain believes that there is no substitute for hard work on English tracks ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, which will begin on Wednesday. The skipper has enjoyed the greatest batting average in his team (50+) since the tournament's beginning.

Also read: WTC Final, IND vs AUS: Will in-form Cameron Green curb his natural attacking game?

"Look, I think, in England in general, it's pretty challenging conditions for batters. As long as you are prepared to have a good grind, you can have success," Rohit said during an ICC event 'Afternoon With Test Legends' on Sunday.

While seated next to Pat Cummins, Ross Taylor, and Ian Bell, Rohit, who was India's best hitter in four Test matches in 2021 against England, spoke about his personal experience.

"One thing I realised in 2021, you are never in (set) and the weather keeps changing. You need to keep concentrating for longer periods of time and you will get that intuition when it's time to take on the bowlers. More importantly you need to be out there and you have got to understand what your strengths are," the Indian skipper said.

Rohit believes that knowing the scoring patterns of prior players who have achieved success at the Oval won't be a terrible idea for someone who is heavy on data and analytics, as one has observed him with the Mumbai Indians and Team India over the years.

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"I am not going to try and emulate them (successful players) but it would be a bit nice to know their pattern of scoring. What I have found out at Oval is that the square boundaries are pretty quick," he said.

Rohit has been switching formats for more than ten years. He is aware of how difficult it is, but he nevertheless relishes the challenge and the opportunity to adjust his approach to the situation.

"That (change of formats) certainly has been the challenging factor. You know you play multi-format. Mentally you have to be very adaptable and tweak your technique. You need to be talking to yourself and get mentally ready. A lot of our younger guys haven't done that. A lot of us are doing it for many years and bringing out best performances," the captain said.

Even though the 35-year-old Indian captain has won five IPL championships, one T20 World Cup, and a Champions Trophy, Test cricket is still the best format for him.

Also read: WTC Final, IND vs AUS: Will in-form Shubman Gill come good against the red-ball?

"It keeps challenging you. You want to be in these situations. You look forward and as a person, it brings the best out of you. In last 3-4 years in Test cricket, we have had good success. Now it is about crossing that final hurdle and giving that confidence to youngsters so that they can play in the way they want to play," he concluded.

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