WTC Final: Shubman Gill & Pujara's brain fade puts Australia on top, netizens not happy

Australia dominated the second day of the ICC World Test Championship final 2023, amassing a commanding total of 469 runs in the opening innings. Steve Smith and Travis Head were the standout performers for Australia, with Smith scoring 121 runs and Head contributing an impressive 163 runs.

However, the Indian team had a rocky start to their innings as Pat Cummins dismissed captain Rohit Sharma after scoring just 15 runs. Shubman Gill, who had been in great form recently and was the top run-scorer in the IPL 2023, also failed to make an impact as Scott Boland took him out for just 13 runs. Unfortunately, both batsmen fell in the second session on the second day, compounding India’s woes.

Gill’s dismissal was disappointing as he misjudged a delivery that angled back in and struck his off stump. It was a delightful moment for Australia but disappointing for the Indian side. Many had high expectations from Gill in the WTC final, but he could not live up to them in the first innings. Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara also suffered a similar brain fade moment as he watched the ball go past his bat and dismissed the bails of the off stump.

Australia continued their impressive performance by taking early wickets and putting pressure on their Indian counterpart. With the dismissals of the openers, the Pat Cummins-led side gained a significant advantage and aimed to capitalize on it as the day progressed. Australians also removed Virat Kohli early for 14 off 31 balls. Mitchell Starc picked up his wicket with a brilliant delivery. 

WTC Final: India vs Australia Playing XIs

Australia's XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India's XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Image: Disney+Hotstar