India still need two more wins from the remaining three Tests of the series to guarantee themselves a place in the WTC final.
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It will also the first three-Test series between the countries since the West Indies tour of Australia in 2015-16.
Australia dominated the proceedings on the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval.
India, who defeated England by five wickets in the fourth Test in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, replaced the Kiwis with a stronger points percentage of 64.58.
Ahead of the start of the WTC Final, Australian players read out AI's prediction of the match, which got underway at the Oval.
South Africa's two-test series success over Sri Lanka on Monday catapulted them to first place in the World Test Championship and put them firmly on course for next year's final in what would have been unthinkable less than a year ago.
Ravi Shastri sounded sceptical about the possibility of players getting extended gap after the IPL or practice games ahead of future WTC final matches.
It has been 10 years since Australia won the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Gavaskar didn't mince words while pointing out the repeated failures of the team's batters, who failed to cross the 200 mark six out of nine times during the series.
Captain Rohit Sharma wasted no time as he joined the team's training session on Tuesday ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia next week.
New Zealand's chances of delivering a famous series whitewash in India will depend on how well they adapt to the Mumbai pitch
Captain Rohit Sharma believes all individuals showed a lot of character and stepped up when needed to take India to the World Test Championship final for the second consecutive time.
'...The players and staff deserve a lot of credit for the standard of cricket we have played over the past two years. It would be a great reward for everyone to finish as World Test Champions.'
Gavaskar said domestic cricket assumes importance in view of the upcoming 2025-2027 WTC cycle.
Australia's victory hinged on the dismissal of Virat Kohli on the final day.
Head said the win was a culmination of the hard work put in over the last two years.
A PCB official said due to time constraints between the ICC Champions Trophy and New Zealand tour, Aaqib Javed will continue as interim head coach.
McDonald said team management were continually talking to senior players about their plans.
Both India and Australia were dealt injury scares with Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green suffering nasty blows.
India face Australia in the WTC final on June 7 at The Oval in London.
Sri Lanka, who are third in the WTC rankings behind already qualified Australia and India, will need to beat New Zealand 2-0.
The surface displayed a cover of lush green grass, although it is worth noting that there are still a day remaining until the game begins.
The home side are chasing a modest target of 148 after bowling out Pakistan for 237 and if they win will be assured a place in the WTC final at Lord's.
Overall, in 25 matches Maharaj has picked up 59 wickets, averaging 17.76 with a bowling strike rate of 35.5.
Besides, Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was fined 10 percent of his match fee and received a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood who missed the third Ashes Test and is set to return to the side in the fourth Test match against Australia, said that he was underprepared for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
'I think any captain who wants to lead from the front, they want to lead through performance as well, and that's what Temba's done exceptionally well.'
'Bumrah's 2024 exploits were a masterclass in skill, precision, and relentless consistency,' ICC said in a statement.
The 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final will be played at the iconic Lord's cricket ground from June 11 to 15 next year.
The structure of the nine-team WTC remains intact with each side playing three home and as many away series over a two-year period culminating in the final of a one-off Test.
'There's going to be a lot of logistics involved given the IPL final is only a week before the WTC final'
IPL had paved the way for Ajinkya Rahane's Test comeback after more than a year, but it was not the case for wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is eyeing the upcoming Indian Premier League as his comeback platform from an ankle injury and has expressed confidence in regaining full fitness ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa, starting June 11 at Lord's.
'The captain of a country doesn't opt out of the final Test match of a series, a final-deciding Test match.'
Sourav Ganguly hoped that the seasoned batter makes "most" of the opportunity
The truth of the matter is that India lost their second successive WTC final on day two of this encounter when they collapsed to 71/4 in response to Australia's first-innings total of 469.
Rohit Sharma blamed poor bowling in the first innings for their crushing defeat
Rahane's comeback after 15 months was on predictable lines
India's last ICC title win came a decade ago in the 2013 Champions Trophy, but Rohit said there was no point in dwelling on past disappointments.
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