WATCH: Umesh Yadav's Exuberant Celebration Captures India's Spirit as Marnus Labuschagne Falls on Day 4 of WTC Final

On the fourth day of the World Test Championship final against Australia, India got off to an excellent start when Umesh Yadav took a crucial wicket in the third over of the day. Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed, and the significance of the moment was evident as Australia lost their fifth wicket. At the end of Day 3, Australia's lead had swelled to 296 runs, and if India wanted any chance of winning, they needed to minimize this lead as much as possible. The delivery from Umesh Yadav was a good length ball around the off-stump, which kicked up and caught Labuschagne's edge, flying to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.

Lord Shardul saves India the blushes

Shardul Thakur, the all-rounder who showed great resilience and composure on the previous day, scoring a crucial 51 runs, expressed optimism about India's chances of successfully chasing down a target of 450 runs in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval. On Day 3, India witnessed impressive performances from Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51), which helped them reach a total of 296 runs in their first innings. Although they managed to avoid the follow-on, they conceded a lead of 173 runs to Australia.

Prior to his departure after scoring a lively 51 runs, Shardul Thakur had achieved an impressive feat at The Oval. He had scored three consecutive half-centuries at the south London venue, joining a select group of players in the history of the game who have achieved this milestone.

"Well, cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total and this one-off game, especially ICC finals, you never know, I mean, who can handle the pressure better out there, one good partnership when you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that," Shardul Thakur said in a post-match press conference.

"Last year England chased 400 here and they did not lose too many wickets. So that's a positive sign for us. Whatever they put up on the board, it's too early to make any predictions. We see a lot of times in Test cricket that game changes within an hour. So yes, we like to be optimistic tomorrow going on the field. And yeah, we'll take it on from there," Shardul added.

Published on: Saturday, June 10, 2023, 04:35 PM IST