Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane struck an unbeaten 44 and 20 runs respectively on Day 4 as Team India remains in the hunt for a 444-run target set by the Australians in the ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 at The Oval in London. The Asian giants finished off the penultimate day of the ultimate Test on 164/3 with another 280 runs needed on the final day to clinch the elusive title.
Speaking about how Day 4 panned out, the Aussies began the proceedings with their overnight score of 123/4. Marnus Labuschagne got dismissed early for 41 while Cameron Green lost his wicket on 25 off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. Wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc then joined hands as the duo added 93 runs for the seventh wicket.
The former smashed an unbeaten 66 off 105 while Starc played a valuable knock of 41 off just 57. The Kangaroos declared their innings at 270/8, taking a massive lead of 443 runs. Chasing 444, India got off to a good start before losing Shubman Gill (18) controversially in the slip cordon off the bowling of seamer Scott Boland. Skipper Rohit looked well-settled before he fell prey to spinner Nathan Lyon for 43 off 60. Cheteshwar Pujara got the start but he too got dismissed for 27 off 47 with India in trouble at 93/3. Kohli and Rahane then steadied the ship as an exciting final of the summit clash day awaits the fans.
Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from Day 4 of the World Test Championship Final 2023 between India and Australia:
13031 – Rohit Sharma completed 13000 runs as an opener for India in international cricket. He became the third Indian after Virender Sehwag (15758) and Sachin Tendulkar (15335) to achieve the feat.
70 – Rohit has now struck the third-most sixes for India in Tests. He surpassed Tendulkar’s tally of 69 maximums. Sehwag and MS Dhoni are in the top two positions for hitting 90 and 78 sixes, respectively.
8 – For the eighth time, Pat Cummins dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara in Test cricket which is the joint-most with Joe Root.
5003 – Virat Kohli reached the milestone of 5000 runs against Australia in international cricket. He became the second player after Tendulkar (6707) to achieve the feat.
16.75 – Shubman Gill has managed to score just 67 runs in four innings at a poor average of 16.75 and the highest score of 28 in the WTC Finals.
64 – Cheteshwar Pujara has also racked up only 64 runs in four innings at an average of 16.00 and the best score of 27 in the WTC Finals.
50 – Pat Cummins completed the milestone of 50 wickets against India in Test matches.