It will be interesting to see what rating the ICC match referee, former West Indies captain Richie Richardson, gives to the Oval pitch for the World Test Championship final between India and Australia. The surface for the marquee clash has come under fire after batters from both sides were repeatedly hit by the fast bowlers.
Shardul Thakur, who copped a couple of nasty blows on his forearm while scoring a crucial 51 in India's first innings, called the wicket "under-prepared," saying it is very different from the surface they played on back in 2021. India had won that game against England by 157 runs in September 2021, with Thakur getting a half-century in each innings.
