"The key is to try and get them as early as possible"- Aaron Finch on Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith ahead of WTC Final

Former Australian captain Aaron Finch feels the impact of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith would probably decide which way the World Test Championship (WTC) final would be heading.

Both Kohli and Smith are the fulcrum of the middle order of India and Australia respectively and Finch believes the priority for both teams will be to get the star batter in the opposition out cheaply.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, here's what Aaron Finch had to say about Virat Kohli and Steve Smith:

“Both batting at number four, so the key is to try and get them as early as possible, early wickets to expose them to the brand new ball will be absolutely key. I will always side with Steve Smith, I think his record is outstanding, but it will be a very good contest.”

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Aaron Finch on the India vs Australia rivalry

Aaron Finch has had first-hand experience of the rivalry between India and Australia that has grown immensely over the past couple of decades. While India have won all of the last three Test series (Border Gavaskar Trophy) against Australia, Finch feels the WTC final is still anyone's game.

On this, he stated:

“I think the rivalry is held in such high regard in both countries, that I think it brings out the best in both teams. Obviously, India has had the better of Australia in the last three series I think, so both teams will rise to the occasion no matter where it’s played, at home or away or this time at neutral territory. It’s just a must watch thing.”

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India WTC final squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat (wk), Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Cheteshwar Pujara, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadakt, Umesh Yadav.

Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia WTC final squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

Reserves: Mitch Marsh, Matt Renshaw.