As early as the 8th over of the World Test Championship final, Mohammed Siraj surprised Marnus Labuschagne by getting a ball to zip off a good length. Despite 888 in the first three days, The Oval pitch has shown signs of being dangerous on multiple occasions. After stitching a 109-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Ajinkya Rahane that kept India in the contest, Shardul Thakur called The Oval pitch "underprepared". You have to play committedly because we saw today many balls kept down and I mean that is an area of good length, and I mean, that area is at a good length, a little short of length. But as the game went on, as teams started taking rollers in the morning or during the change of the innings, the pitch changed a lot.

Source: Hindustan Times June 10, 2023 20:31 UTC