IND vs AUS LIVE SCORE, WTC Final Day 1: AUS 26/1; Warner, Labuschagne rebuild after Khawaja's exit

16:13 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

After 12 overs,Australia 29/1 ( David Warner 17 , Marnus Labuschagne 11)

Labuschagne clips a full delivery from Siraj through the midwicket region, getting enough timing on the shot for it to be a boundary in most venues across the world. The huge boundaries at the Oval, however, gives the fielder a chance to save a run and that's what Shardul Thakur ends up doing. Drinks brought to the field at the end of this over, marking the end of the first hour of play. Expect a bowling change or two after this interval.

16:04 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

FOUR! Pitched slightly short by Shami, and Warner has little issue pulling this in front of square. The sweeper runs to his right from deep square-leg, but is unable to get to the ball on time. AUS 26/1

16:03 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

After 10 overs,Australia 22/1 ( David Warner 13 , Marnus Labuschagne 8)

Just one run collected in the last two overs, with Siraj collecting his second maiden of the day. Siraj appeals for LBW in the final delivery of the 10th, but the umpire shakes his head.

15:56 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

After 8 overs,Australia 21/1 ( David Warner 13 , Marnus Labuschagne 7)

OUCH! Labuschagne cops a painful blow on his left thumb, getting hit by a delivery that lifts off after being dug in short by Siraj, with the bat flying out from his grasp. The world No 1 Test batter takes a bit to recuperate from the blow before resuming his innings. Gets off strike two balls later, clipping the ball through the leg side and getting enough time to come back for a third.

15:33 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

After 6 overs,Australia 16/1 ( David Warner 12 , Marnus Labuschagne 3)

FOUR! Short and wide from Siraj, Warner gets a thick outside edge off a slash with the ball flying over the slip cordon and away to the third man fence, resulting in the first boundary of the Australian innings. Warner follows it up with a punch wide of mid on, getting enough time to come back for a third.
 

15:30 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

After 4 overs,Australia 4/1 ( David Warner 2 , Marnus Labuschagne 2)

David Warner opens Australia's account with a brace in the third over of the innings, clipping the ball through the midwicket region. Siraj strikes in the following over, reaping the reward for persisting with a tight line to Khawaja. Labuschagne joins Warner at the centre, and gets off the mark right away with a brace off a glance towards fine leg.

15:18 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

OUT! Siraj draws first blood, as Khawaja departs for a duck! The Hyderabad seamer had bowling a series of testing deliveries to the left-hander from over the wicket, and got one to nip slightly away and kiss the outside edge that resulted in a comfortable catch for keeper Bharat. AUS 2/1

Khawaja c Bharat b Siraj 0

15:13 (IST)

India vs Australia WTC Final LIVE Cricket Score

After 2 overs,Australia 0/0 ( David Warner 0 , Usman Khawaja 0)

Back-to-back maidens at the start of the Aussie innings, with Shami's new ball partner Mohammed Siraj too starting off on a tidy note.

15:08 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

After 1 over,Australia 0/0 ( David Warner 0 , Usman Khawaja 0)

Shami starts off on a tidy note, extracting plenty of seam movement in the first over with one delivery jagging back in sharply and sailing narrowly over the stumps after David Warner, the man on strike first up, shapes for a leave. Maiden.

15:02 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

A minute's silence is observed at The Oval in memory of the victims of the train disaster in Odisha last week. That is followed by the national anthems of the two teams, starting with the Jana Gana Mana, before the players make their way to the centre for the start of play.

Mohammed Shami has the ball in hand for the first over while David Warner prepares to face the first delivery.

14:41 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

Teams:

Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

14:40 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

Rohit Sharma, India captain: We’re going to bowl. Just the conditions, and the weather being overcast as well. Don’t think the pitch will change too much. We’ve got four seamers and one spinner — Ravindra Jadeja. It’s always been tough, he’s been such a match-winner. You’ve got to do the things that’s needed for the team.

Pat Cummins, Australia captain: We would’ve had a bowl as well, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. Hopefully Day 4 and 5 there will be a bit of spin. Just a little bit of grass, should be a great weapon. We’ve been here for a while, some of the guys a bit longer playing county cricket.

14:34 (IST)

India vs Australia, ICC WTC Final LIVE Score

TOSS: India win the toss, and skipper Rohit Sharma opts to field

14:29 (IST)

Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Karthik analyse the Oval pitch:

Sanga: “Very much early summer. It is overcast, so there will be swing. The fist time the Oval is hosting a Test this early. Lovely covering of grass, so there will be seam as well. Oval as close to Australia as it gets. Will be interesting for the two captains. Captains might look to bowl first.”

DK: “Pat Cummins being a bowling captain, will look to bowl first. Rohit could end up playing four medium pacers. They will get the feeling a lot of cricket will be played in the first three days and that’s where the pacers could play a big role.”

14:20 (IST)

Coach Rahul Dravid on the pressure of winning an ICC title for the Indian team

"No, not at all. I mean we don’t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy. Of course it would be nice to do it. It would be certainly nice to be able to win an ICC tournament.

"But also in the context of things, you look at this and you see this is the culmination of two years of work. It’s a culmination of a lot of success that gets you here."

14:13 (IST)

Trivia: The winner (India or Australia) of the WTC final 2023 will become the first team to win all three major ICC titles -- ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and ICC Test mace.

14:07 (IST)

Pat Cummins feels experience will held Australia in WTC final: 

“You know, one thing about playing lots of cricket is you get experience in pressure moments and finals, you know, there’s no higher pressure situation. So again, that’s one of the benefits of having an experienced side.

13:58 (IST)

Rohit Sharma speaks ahead of the WTC final: 

“The players know when India won and when they didn’t. I don’t think it is right to think about it again and again. You have to focus on the situation and how we can do better. All the players and coaching staff are focused on how we can do well in this match and win. Because what has happened and what is going to happen in the future, there is no point in thinking about that. It is very important to think about the present. Our team’s focus is on how we will win this match.”

13:43 (IST)

WTC Final squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat

Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Marcus Harris

13:28 (IST)

London weather report: England is known for rain interrupting Test matches but for now the weather forecast is mixed for London during the WTC final. Rain should not have much impact on the first three days (7-9 June) while temperatures are expected to be between 202-25 Celsius. Rain however is predicted for Day 4, 5 and the reserve day.

13:24 (IST)

India and Australia's record at The Oval:

India: Played - 14. Won - 2. Lost - 5. Draw - 7.

Australia: Played - 38. Won - 7. Lost - 17. Draw - 14.

Both teams have a less-than-impressive record at The Oval.

While India and Australia have never faced each other at a neutral venue, overall, they have played 106 Tests of which Australia have won 44 while India have won 32, with 29 ending in a draw and 1 in a tie.

13:14 (IST)

WTC Final live streaming: The WTC Final 2023 will be broadcast on the Star Sports network and live streaming will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.

13:09 (IST)

The Oval pitch report: There's no official word on this but the pitches in Oval over the years have always offered bounce and while it has been helpful for pacers, it's the third favourite pitch for spinners in England in terms of average. The biggest difference this time however is that in 140 years of history of The Oval first time a Test will take place in the stadium in June. The Oval is known for Tests in August and September. This means the pitch should be fresh. It can be fast and bouncy or unpredictable.

12:53 (IST)

WTC Final match timings: The India vs Australia WTC Final 2023 will begin at 3 PM in India and toss will take place at 2.30 PM IST. The match is scheduled for 7-11 June and 12 June is a reserve day in case rain plays spoilsport.

12:50 (IST)

The day of reckoning is here! India take on Australia in the all-important ICC WTC Final 2023 at the Oval in London starting Wednesday. The 'Ultimate Test' as it is being called is not only a fight for Test bragging rights but India are aiming to break their decade-long wait for an ICC title. We will bring you all the latest updates, toss news and match commentary. Stay tuned for more...