All eyes on batting unit as India seek spot in WTC final

Indias batting megastars will be desperate to clear the cobwebs from their head in pursuit of a second successive World Test Championship final berth as they take on Australia in the seriesdeciding fourth Test here from ThursdayThe equation remains simple for the hosts Win the series 31 and dont depend on the result of Sri Lankas away rubber in New Zealand for a ticket to summit WTC clash in JuneAfter the spinners from both sides held fort on designer tracks that bordered on being underprepared the firm and even bounce on offer at Motera does promise some welcome respite for the battersVirat Kohli and company will leave no stone unturned to change the alltoofamiliar script of two and half day games which is starting to get lopsided and boringThe imposing amphitheatre that the Narendra Modi Stadium is will certainly create the right kind of aura that a highstakes Test match deservesWith 100000 people expected on the opening day to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese watch a cricket match for the first time in a stadium named after the former the buzz is set to reach a crescendoBut for maintaining that interest the likes of Kohli Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara will have to take the onus upon themselves to win the mind game and the battle of 22 yardsAlso readCheteshwar Pujara My dream is to win WTC FinalBigger in size than even the iconic MCG the walk from the centre of the track to the dressing room is a lonely walk of around 100 metres and some 70 plus staircasesKohli 111 and Cheteshwar Pujara 98 would like to stay long enough on the 22 yards so that the long walk back doesnt seem more arduousThat Axar Patel 185 is Indias second highest scorer in the series after skipper Rohit 207 put things into perspective about the degree of difficulty that batters have faced so far India head coach Rahul Dravids assessment buttressed thisPlaying Nathan Lyon Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann on better batting strip means that if India bat first they are unlikely to deal with a devilish black soil track where deliveries come at right angles within first five minutes of the gameJust like pace off the pitch is easier to tackle than seam and swing it is not the deviation off the surface that creates doubts but the uneven bounce that makes rank turners dangerousA batter is forever unsure whether to come down the track to smother spin or stay back and play as late as possibleKohli and Pujara know better than anybody else that big knocks against quality opposition have eluded them for far too longWhile the clamour for KL Rahuls head buried any conversations about Kohlis Test average of 25 plus in last three and half years the master batter knows too well that public memory is fickle and it wont take much time for critics to train their guns on him if the duration of failure is stretched furtherTeam combinationFor India one straight change will be Mohammed Shami coming in and he will have the seasoned Umesh Yadav for companyMohammed Siraj will be rested as he is expected to play a key role in Indias ODI campaign starting March 17 in MumbaiWhile Indias shoddy batting display raised a question if an extra batter would serve as a cushion for the toporder but if the track is better for the willowwielders five bowlers will be needed to take 20 wicketsAxar the batter has been a revelation during the series but his leftarm spin hasnt been utilized as it should have been Maybe Motera where he has played the bulk of his first class cricket and first got Test stardom will turn the tables once againAs far as keeping is concerned Dravid is bullish about Kona Bharat despite his below par show with the batIshan Kishan being given considerable attention ahead of the Test does raise the curiosity level as he is any day a better batsman than the Andhra manAs far as the Australian side is concerned whether they would dump one offspinner in Todd Murphy and pick up an extra pacer Scott Boland or Lance Morris will be the key questionHaving already clinched the WTC final berth Steve Smith in his stopgap role would certainly harbour hopes of spoiling the great Indian record of being invincible at homeIt hadnt happened since England came in 2012 but after the Indore boomerang the possibility cant be ruled outCricket after all remains a game of glorious uncertaintiesTeams fromAustralia Scott Boland Alex Carey Cameron Green Peter Handscomb Travis Head Usman Khawaja Matt Kuhnemann Marnus Labuschagne Nathan Lyon Lance Morris Todd Murphy Matthew Renshaw Steve Smith captain Mitchell Starc Mitchell SwepsonIndia Rohit Sharma captain KL Rahul Shubman Gill Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer KS Bharat Ishan Kishan Ravichandran Ashwin Axar Patel Kuldeep Yadav Ravindra Jadeja Mohammed Shami Mohammed Siraj Umesh Yadav Suryakumar Yadav Jaydev UnadkatMatch starts at 930am ISTThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its 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