Ricky Ponting picks players who could make big impact for India in WTC final against Australia

Australian Head Coach Ricky Ponting picked his key Indian players for the upcoming Test Championship final against Australia. The former cricketer believes that Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara could play a crucial role for India in the title clash. The runners-up of the previous edition are all set to take on Australia for the second edition of the Test Championship final that is scheduled to be played at the Oval, England from June 7 to June 11.

Pujara could play a pivotal role in the Indian batting lineup as he is already coming after playing for Sussex at the County Championship Division Two in England where he has been in great form. The 35-year-old has scored 545 runs in six games for Sussex at an average of 68.12, including three centuries. Meanwhile, Kohli is coming after a great outing in IPL 2023 where he amassed 639 runs in 14 matches at an average of 53.25, including back-to-back centuries in the last two games.

Both Kohli and Pujara are also known to deliver their best when it comes to bat against the Aussies in the longest format of the game. Pujara has scored 2033 runs at an average of 50.82 with five centuries in 24 Tests against Australia. Meanwhile, Kohli also has amassed 1979 runs at an average of 48.93 with eight centuries in 24 matches. He also scored a brilliant hundred in the last played against Australia to end his century drought after three years. The 34-year-old scored 186 runs in the final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in March.

He's (Kohli) almost back to his best- Ricky Ponting

"The Australian team will be talking about Virat, no doubt about it, and they'll be talking about Pujara. They're the two. Pujara has been a thorn in their side a lot in the past, and in Australia, this wicket will potentially be a lot more like an Australian pitch. They know that they'll have to get him early,” Ponting was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

"They also know that Virat over the last few weeks is probably just about back to his absolute best, albeit in T20 cricket. He told me that the feeling he's getting right now is that he's almost back to his best, and that's an ominous warning for the Australians going into a one-off game,” he further added.