"India have a huge chance for the final" - Aaron Finch brands the Men in Blue as favorites in the WTC final 

Former Australian captain Aaron Finch feels that Team India have a great chance of winning the World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia at The Oval. The highly anticipated clash is scheduled to begin on June 7, following the culmination of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Men in Blue secured qualification into the final after earning a series win over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while Sri Lanka fell to the narrowest of defeats against New Zealand, ending their chances in the process.

India made it to the finals of the first edition as well but faced a humbling eight-wicket loss to New Zealand in Southampton two years ago.

Opining that Team India have one of the best pace bowling attacks in the world, which will be crucial in England, Finch told Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket in Doha:

"I am not sure what Hardik's Test match plans but when you look at Shami, Umesh, Suraj, and these guys, they are really very very good fast bowlers. Siraj is among the top bowlers in the world at the moment.

"He can all swing the ball. They beat England in England last time. So India have a huge chance for the final. They have a lot of bases covered whether they play one or two spinners."

Team India will be without the services of Jasprit Bumrah for the crucial final encounter. The pacer recently underwent back surgery in New Zealand and is expected to return by the time the ICC ODI World Cup in October-November nears by.

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"It is just that one hour of madness in Delhi" - Finch feels Australia should have won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 2-1 margin

The recently concluded edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy saw India retain the trophy for the fourth consecutive time. Australia, battling injury and team combination concerns, conceded the trophy after being inflicted with a 2-0 deficit.

However, they showed tremendous spirit to hand India a rare home Test defeat and ended the series in a draw at Ahmedabad. Noting that the first session of the third day in Delhi cost them dearly, Finch said:

"They should have won 2-1. It is just that one hour of madness in Delhi. "Khawaja was amazing. But Australia also batted a bit longer and deeper in the game."

Finch continued:

"It would have been easier for them to drop their heads after losing the toss in the third Test but the way they approached and bowled on the first morning was brilliant. And then to take a lead and get ahead in the game was pretty awesome as well. They deserved that Test win. They should have been 2-1 up in the series."

The second Test in Delhi was arguably a neck-to-neck contest after Australia amassed a 62-run lead after Day 2 with eight wickets in hand.

However, the Aussies lost nine wickets in a session to fold over and lose the Test by four wickets.

Who will win the WTC Finals between India and Australia? Let us know what you think.

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