BGT 2023 | India set sights on WTC final as Rohit Sharma discusses potential green pitch at Motera

BGT 2023 | India set sights on WTC final as Rohit Sharma discusses potential green pitch at Motera

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The Indian leadership might ask for a green pitch for the final Test of the series

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Rohit Sharma admitted to India thinking beyond the ongoing series with the possibility of a green pitch in the final Test should they win in Indore to confirm a spot in the WTC final. Sharma went on to discuss the dynamics of a Test at a neutral venue as he refocused attention on the upcoming Test.

India would be aiming to put the series to bed at the Holkar Stadium when they take the field for the penultimate Test on Wednesday. Having already secured an unassailable 2-0 lead, ensuring a fourth successive Border Gavaskar Trophy on the trot, the Men in Blue would climb to the top of the ICC Test rankings as well as confirm a spot in the World Test Championship final with a victory in Indore. Given that would still leave a dead rubber to play at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted the team might use the occasion to prepare for the summit clash scheduled to take place at the Oval beginning June 7. 

"There is definitely a possibility of that. We've already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it as well," the Indian skipper was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

However, the Indian captain pointed out that the absence of Shardul Thakur from the present squad might affect their plans given the pace all-rounder returns to the selection loop in such conditions.

"The important one is Shardul Thakur because he comes into that plan for us. I don't know how ready he is, knowing that he just got married. We don't know how many overs he has bowled. But yeah, that thought process is definitely there. If we do what we do here and we get the result we want, we might think of doing something different in Ahmedabad for sure," Sharma added.

At present, Sri Lanka is still in contention for the WTC final alongside the two titans about to battle in Indore. However, the Lions have their work cut out, needing to clean sweep New Zealand 2-0 in their own backyard while also hoping for favourable results in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Nevertheless, Sharma chose to remain humble about his side's chances while pointing out Australia's valiant fightback in certain sessions of the second Test indicated a potentially fierce performance on Wednesday.

"It will be a great achievement for us [to reach the WTC final], but we know that we need to cross that final hurdle, and for that, we need to win the next game as well, so the focus is on this Test, how we can win this game, and not look too far ahead, because after this game we've got one more Test match to be played, and then after that, there are two months of IPL. There's a lot of time to think about the final, but right now it's very important for us to focus on this one and see how we can turn it around and win this game as well because, in the last game, we were put under pressure for sure, we can expect the same here as well, so we need to be ready for that," Rohit said.

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