'Hopefully, this time we will cross the line' - Cheteshwar Pujara exudes confidence ahead of World Test Championship Final

The second final of the ICC World Test Championship will feature an epic showdown between India and Australia, with the mega clash kicking off on June 7 at the Oval in London. India suffered a loss to New Zealand in the WTC 2021 final encounter at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, with the Kiwis winning by an eight-wicket margin to become the inaugural champion. Australia topped the chart with the most points in the 2021–23 cycle with 66.67 points percent (PCT) in 19 Test matches, while India qualified for the championship match with 58.8 PCT after defeating Australia 2-1 at home in the recently concluded Border–Gavaskar Trophy series.

Virat Kohli, Pujara, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj are just a few of the Indian stars who arrived early in the UK after heading for England before the IPL 2023 playoffs. After competing in the T20 tournament playoffs, players like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, and Mohammed Shami also joined the team in preparation.

Senior India batter Cheteshwar Pujara revealed on Monday that he is optimistic about the team's chances of winning the World Test Championship final, which will begin on June 7. He highlighted the preparations that the players have been doing in the build-up to the game. Pujara expressed reliability on the fact that Indian batsmen are quite accustomed to playing in English circumstances.

We have played a lot of cricket against Australia: Pujara

"We have had very good preparation so hopefully this time we will cross the line. Most of the guys have played enough cricket here and some of them have played County cricket too. And you need that experience...we know each other's strengths and we have played a lot of cricket against Australia as well so we know what to expect from the opposition team," Pujara told the ICC.

India will rely on the senior batter to score big as they take on a top-class Australian pace attack at the Oval. India would want to carry great memories of the venue as they defeated England here in their last Test match in 2021. Pujara is the best-equipped Indian star for the WTC final, having focused on red-ball mode following India’s last Test series, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.