Why WTC finals against India at The Oval is bad news for Australia?
India and Australia are set for a high-stakes clash of the World Test Championship (WTC) at The Oval, England from 7 June to 11 June. With world class players in both teams, the final match is expected to be nothing short of a thriller. But, for Australia the challenge is going to be difficult because at the grounds of The Oval, the odds will be against them.
In over 140 years of Test cricket in England, Australian cricket team has the worst record at the grounds of The Oval. Australia played their first Test match at the ground in 1880 and has played 38 Test matches on the ground since then.
Out of the 38, Australia has managed to win just 7 Test matches at the popular South London venue. Mathematically, the counts as the success rate of just 18.42%. In the last 50 years, the Australian cricket team has won just 2 matches at The Oval.
Australia’s record at The Oval is in sharp contrast to their performances at other stadiums of England like at The Lord’s they have a success rate of 43.59%, 34.62 per cent at Headingley, 30.43 per cent at Trent Bridge, and 29.03 per cent and 26.67 per cent at Old Trafford and Edgbaston respectively.
The Oval has not been very great for India also, but the team has played only 14 Test matches at the stadium. Out of the 14, India won 2, lost 5 and 7 matches were drawn. India will enter the grounds with confidence as during their previous encounter at The Oval with England, they defeated the home team by 157 runs.
Australia concluded the 2021-23 WTC cycle as the leading team, with their sole defeat occurring in a 2-1 away match against India earlier this year. Their struggle against the Indian team has persisted for the past eight years, resulting in four consecutive series losses, both at home and away.
(With agency inputs)
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Updated: 01 Jun 2023, 04:13 PM IST