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India showed great resilience on the third day of the WTC final. Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur provided valuable runs and the bowlers came up with improved performances compared to the first innings.
However, despite their admirable efforts, it became clear by the end of the day that India had fallen too far behind in the match due to their performances in the first two days.
Starting the day 318 runs behind with half of their team dismissed, India fought hard and managed to reduce the deficit to 173. Unfortunately, by the end of the day, they still trailed by 296 runs with six Australian wickets remaining. India have still plenty of work to do if they have to harbour any hopes of making a comeback in this match.
On that note, let's take a look at three things India need to do right on Day 4 of the WTC final vs Australia
#3 Pick early wickets
India are still way behind in the match and have to use the early morning conditions well if they have to be relevant in the match. To the credit of the bowlers, they did not allow the Australian batters easy runs on Day 3 and have to strike early and try to dismiss the rest of the batters in the first session.
The bowlers will be relatively fresh and the conditions in London will be set fair once again and it will be hard work now that the ball has gone soft. However, the bowlers would look to use the uneven bounce on the pitch to their favor.
#2 Not allow easy runs
The conditions will favor the batters on Day 4 and this will be the biggest challenge for the Indian bowlers. However, they need to stay disciplined and not allow the Australian batters to get away. Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green had to work hard for their runs and they should be put under pressure.
This is where Ravindra Jadeja will be the key man as he ties one end up and allow the pacers to be rotated from the other end. With Alex Carey being the other recognized batter, the bowlers will have the chance to dry up the runs and build pressure to buy wickets.
#1 Bat today
The weather will be set clear pretty much the entire day. The bowlers have to try to dismiss Australia today and the Indian batters should be wanting to bat today. If they manage to keep the lead to under 400, a good start might well keep the chase interested.
For this to be a reality, a lot of focus will be on the bowlers and how captain Rohit Sharma manages to keep the runs dry and pick up wickets. The role of Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav will be the key as they too need to minimise the error balls and allow Rohit to attack with Shami and Siraj pretty much the entire first session.
