WTC Final 2023: India win toss elect to bowl against Australia, Ashwin left out of playing 11

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WTC Final: India won the toss and elected to do bowl against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 at The Oval in London on Wednesday.

India are entering the match with just one spinner in Ravindra Jadeja and four pacers. Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been left out of the playing eleven. Wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat is playing ahead of Ishan Kishan.

Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur are the four pacers for India.

Rohit Sharma cited conditions and weather as reasons behind opting to bowl first. He added that leaving out experienced Ashwn was a tough call.

"We are going to bowl. The conditions and also the weather being overcast. The pitch won't change too much. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner. He (Rahane) brings a lot of experience, he's played 80-odd Tests," Rohit said.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said he would also have opted to bat first.

"We would have bowled as well. Hopefully day four and five, there's a bit of spin. You think it suits his (Boland) bowling, he'll be a key weapon. We've been here for about 10 days. Pretty fresh, weather has been nice, we haven't missed a session, feeling good."

WTC Final 2023: Playing XI

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

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