"I don't think India will have any difficulties batting on this wicket" - Harbhajan Singh expects the Men in Blue to retaliate with the bat 

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh expects India to bat in a similar fashion to Australia in their first innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval.

The Aussies made a commanding start to the proceedings by posting 327 runs on the first day with the loss of three wickets after being put into bat first. Travis Head scored a sublime hundred while Steve Smith is just five runs away from a century.

Expecting the Indian batters to impose themselves on the Australian bowling attack as well, particularly the in-form duo of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel:

"The Oval is perhaps the best pitch to bat on in England, and it will be better to bat on as the game goes on. I don't think India will have any difficulties batting on this wicket. Gill and Kohli are in good form, the weather has opened up, and there is not much cloud cover as well."

India were off to a perfect start after Siraj struck early with the new ball to dismiss Usman Khawaja for a duck. However, Australia proceeded to dominate the rest of the day.

Backing the decision to play four seamers considering the conditions on offer, Harbhajan said:

"Only the toss went in India's favor, after that it was all Australia. India did not have a grip on the game in any of the sessions. Considering the conditions, the team selection was right, but it did not pan out as hoped. The lines kept getting wider and the length also kept dropping."

The Men in Blue received a lot of flak from fans and pundits alike for not including Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI.

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma admitted during the toss that it was a tough call while bowling coach Paras Mhambrey defended the selection call at the press conference after Day 1.

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"It was not one bowler who made the mistake, all four seamers made the same mistake" - Harbhajan Singh

The new Dukes ball and the overcast conditions gave the seamers a lot of help in the first hour of play, following which the batters began to settle down comfortably. Barring Mohammed Siraj's early strike, the seamers could not find any breakthroughs despite a few random close calls.

Criticizing the seamers for not making the most of the new ball by pitching it on a good length rather than full, Harbhajan Singh said:

"The Australian batters were comfortably playing on the back foot. India did not make the most of the new ball. There was a lot of carry on offer and the ball beat the edge a couple of times as well, but that does not matter unless it results in a wicket. It was not one bowler who made the mistake, all four seamers made the same mistake."

Will Team India respond strongly with the bat following Australia's dominant display? Let us know what you think.