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Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami said that India will return to The Oval on the Day 5 of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final with full belief that they can win 'The Ultimate Test' against Australia
An eventful day of cricket came to an end with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane holding down India's fort at the end of Day-4 of the ongoing World Test Championship Final 2023 between India and Australia on Saturday. At the end of the day, India scored 164/3 in 40 overs with Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli at the crease with scores of 20(59)* and 44(60)*. And if they succeed in chasing a target of 444 runs to win the WTC Final, it will mark the biggest fourth-inning run chase in Test history. "One hundred per cent everyone believes that tomorrow we will win the match. We always fight, we perform well around the world. So we believe and we will all come together to win this match," Mohammed Shami said in a post-match press conference. Shami's assurance is consistent with what Indian bowler Shardul Thakur said following day three when he stated that the squad believed they were capable of chasing down "450, maybe more". "It doesn't matter what happened in Sydney or Brisbane, we are playing here. We have to think about tomorrow and we will win the match," he added. "I believe that the Test match should go until the fifth day and maybe until the last session. That's the real test. So we have to bat well and they have to bowl well to save themselves," said the India pacer. India's batting stalwart Virat Kohli joined an elite list as he became the fifth Indian batter to score more than 2000 runs against Australia. While Rahane, who was impressive for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and won his recall to the India Test XI in part because of that performance, demonstrated that he is back to his entertaining best with a brilliant 89 in the first innings. Shami believes India should be able to score the remaining 280 runs if the hitters continue to perform well. "If you bat well, 280 runs is not a big score. So I think you should bat normally as a Test match; focus on playing ball by ball. You should not look at the long target. When you keep small goals and targets, you will get more success," Shami added. (ANI)
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