Australia were in a good position from day one in WTC finals, says batsman Steve Smith after win over India

London [UK] June 12 (ANI): Australian batsman Steve Smith said his team deserved to win the final match because they dominated the ICC World Test Champions (WTC) final against India from the first day of the match.

After dominating India for five days, Australia clinched their maiden Test World Cup title of 2023 on Sunday at the Oval in London. India were bowled out for 234 in 63.3 overs with Mohammad Shami the last man out with 13(8).

“It’s a big achievement for this group, we have played good cricket in the last 2 years to get here and so have India. We put ourselves in a good position on the first day,” said Smith at the post-match presentation.

Head led Australia to a decisive 209-run victory in the one-off Test with scores of 163 and 18 off Steve Smith and Alex Carey, who both produced good efforts.

At 76/3 on the opening day of the match at The Oval, Head entered the crease with Australia in trouble. He later joined forces with Smith (121) for a 285-run stand that turned the tide in his team’s favour.

Smith praised batsman Travis Head for his sensational hundred in the match against India. Travis Head’s aggressive stance pushed India back and as the day wore on, Head and Steve Smith continued to suffer injuries.

Trav (Head) played really well, allowed me to anchor the innings, it helped us control the innings well,” Smith said.

In the second innings of the match, Virat Kohli was knocking out 49 runs when Smith took a superb wicket off the bowling of Scott Boland. According to Smith, the catch gave them hope that they were on the verge of victory.

“This catch was important for us. Virat was important and so was Jadeja. It spurred us on. We deserved the victory and got it as a result. Happy with the bowling effort the boys put in,” Smith added. (ANI)