[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by Aakash118

Aren’t we past the era of calling wks as part time batsmen? I think the likes of MS, Gilly, Butler, Mccullum have done enough to remove that stigma from wks. I’ve even seen teams playing with 2 or 3 wks in their eleven. India played with four wks in WC 19 semifinal. Eng regularly plays with both Butler & Bairstow in their first choice eleven.

Are you sure you want to put Samson in the same sentence as MS, Gilly, Butler, McCullum?
Heck, Samson isn't even the first-choice keeper in India, in ODIs, T20s or Tests!
And there isn't a stigma to keeping but it is a specialized job. The only reason teams have multiple keepers in their XI is because the said "WK" is exceptional batter. Samson is neither; his only exploits are in IPL, that too inconsistently.

[vamsi.kona]

With regards WK, like goal keepers in football, their work is mostly viewed from the one or two chances they might have missed or errors that they have made irrespective of the overall performance. I believe Bharat has shown very good abilities, given the way he kept with very few errors in the first three tests which were on tracks which heavily favoured spinners, and arguably require far more skill and reflexes when compared to standing back to a pacer. I would like the selectors to stick with him in tests for the simple reason that he looks a better keeper than the competition right now. And it's not like he cannot bat. He has shown that he has the ability to bat, just requires to adjust the mindset a bit. His domestic record shows he is a good bat.

[SoumenD]

So this match is headed for draw come what may. India would win the series 2-1.

However the more interesting game and important for India is going on in NZ. Looks like Srilanka just let it slip and NZ are now mostly going to win it with 15 needed off 2 overs. Or maybe a draw unless SL pulls out a miracle.

Let’s hope India qualifies for WTC finals hereon.

Edit: NZ won and india qualifies.

[Emvi]

New Zealand win a cliffhanger against Sri Lanka!!
Phew! What a match! Superlative knock from Williamson.

[AtheK]

Williamson is just another level and New zealand just keeps cricket entertaining, what a knock.

[congruent.cars]

Unpopular opinion alert: Going by how some of the recent test matches have panned out & the intent, quality displayed by the teams- it looks like the WTC final would be played by the 3rd and 4th best teams. England v/s New Zealand final would have been more apt.

[harry10]

Watched last 100 runs of NZ game.
Insane stuff. Great knock by Mitchell and Williamson has nerves of steel. So calm even on the last ball. Truly a champion.

Feel for SL. Our game is a dull draw but thanks to NZ we have qualified for WTC and a BGT series win in a row for the 4th time as well.

Plus our Win record for consecutive test series win has extended to 16 now. Don't think this will ever be broken by anyone. Absolute dominance.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by congruent.cars

Unpopular opinion alert: Going by how some of the recent test matches have panned out & the intent, quality displayed by the teams- it looks like the WTC final would be played by the 3rd and 4th best teams. England v/s New Zealand final would have been more apt.

Not only unpopular this is an absurd opinion. I believe you didn't even check the stats before making this statement.

Every team has played 6 series.

Australia - played - 18 matches, Won- 11, lost - 3, Draw- 4

India- Played- 18 matches. Won- 10, Lost- 5, Draw -3. (Assuming this match will be a draw)

England- played - 22 matches, Won - 10, Lost- 8, Draw - 4

NZ - Played- 12 matches, Won - 3, Lost- 6, Draw - 3

Now on basis of this how are NZ and England more deserving to be in final?
In fact NZ shouldn't have been in last WTC final too if Australia won't have been penalised for slow over rate and lost points.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by harry10

England- played - 22 matches, Won - 10, Lost- 8, Draw - 4

NZ - Played- 12 matches, Won - 3, Lost- 6, Draw - 3

Now on basis of this how are NZ and England more deserving to be in final?

Credit to England, India and Australia for playing more games, definitely shows their commitment to test cricket, though England's success rate is much lower.

New Zealand played some great quality games but too few games overall.

Definitely Australia and India deserve to be in the finals, though we can't say with confidence if India will be able to beat the Aussies, fingers crossed!

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by congruent.cars

Unpopular opinion alert: Going by how some of the recent test matches have panned out & the intent, quality displayed by the teams- it looks like the WTC final would be played by the 3rd and 4th best teams. England v/s New Zealand final would have been more apt.

This is a perfect example of recency bias. Just because NZ won the last two games in close encounters doesnt make them worthy of the finals. The WTC is a two year cycle and we were better over these two years.

[Aakash118]

Originally Posted by joslicx

And not to forget the greatest of them all, Kumar Sangakkara.

Really, how can I miss him. He was one true great and probably the most consistent batsman of this era. Another great I missed from that list was ABD.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by NPV

...though we can't say with confidence if India will be able to beat the Aussies, fingers crossed!

Difficult considering we'll only play one of the three best batsmen in the team:
Axar
Jadeja
Ashwin

[PPS]

As this Test heads towards a draw, Dravid & Co. should start planning for the WTC Final at the Oval since the composition of the team will be different then! India won't be having the luxury to play all 3 spinners - Axar, Jadeja & Ashwin to lengthen the batting order. Only Shami & Siraj are a certainty. Don't think India will take a chance by playing Umesh, Shardul & Siraj as they all tend to leak runs on a flat pitch. Unadkat can be a good option & would be my pick as 3rd seamer. I would be tempted to play Hardik as the 5th bowler since this is a one-off test, inspite of his issues with fitness & back! But I guess that isn't happening. With no Bumrah & no Pant, I don't have much hopes of India winning the WTC Final!

Originally Posted by Aakash118

Now Iyer is out of ODI series, who you guys think should be his replacement? My pick would be Samson as I feel he is a tailor made batsman for batting at 5 or 6 in white ball cricket.

Samson should ideally replace Iyer in the squad but in the XI pretty sure SKY will replace him.

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

I believe Bharat has shown very good abilities, given the way he kept with very few errors in the first three tests

Since WTC Final is a one-off test, don't be surprised if Team Management entertains thoughts of playing KL as a wicket-keeper to strengthen their brittle batting! Ideally he should have been dropped from the squad altogether but the Team Management seems to still have faith in him, so they prefer having him in the mix.

[harry10]

Australia have an upper hand in WTC final just like NZ did. These countries are more use to of English conditions than Indian team.

My 11 for oval will be-

Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Kohli
Axar
Bharat
Jadeja
Ashwin
Shami
Umesh/Thakur
Siraj

I won't play Iyer even if he is fit. He has a short ball issue and will be a sitting duck in England. Axar has shown he has the technique to play easily so why not play him as a pure batter. Could have played Sarfraz in place of Axar but selectors messed it up.

Other option is to play KL at 5 which I believe management will choose. Bharat should be designated wicket keeper as barring last match his keeping was good and will be needed in final. Whoever wins it's commendable for India to make it twice.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Emvi

New Zealand win a cliffhanger against Sri Lanka!!
Phew! What a match! Superlative knock from Williamson.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Williamson is just another level and New zealand just keeps cricket entertaining, what a knock.

+1

Lucky are those who were able to watch this thrilling end live. I could only keep refreshing the cricinfo page to keep track of the score and updates.

For those who missed the match sitting in office like me, here's the final last ball thriller

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r78WuTWWm1Y