Before facing India in the WTC final, Steve Smith declared that he was "not thinking about opposition."

About

     Australian star batsman Steve Smith expressed his hope that the summit match will be a "good game of cricket" ahead of the high-stakes ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023. The Oval will host the World Tennis Championship Final from June 7–11. For the coveted Test Cup, Pat Cummins-captained Australia will compete against Rohit Sharma-captained India.

     The World T20 final, according to Smith, will include a "good game of cricket" and Australia beating India. "We think we can succeed and defeat India. Over time, we've produced solid cricket. Clearly, we have played some excellent cricket over the past few years. Additionally, they excelled at cricket. The final's top two teams are outstanding. Hopefully, the cricket match will be entertaining. I don't give the opposition much thought. India and Australia both have important weeks coming up, Smith noted at the pre-game press conference.

What he said

     "India has a good combination of seam and swing bowlers, as well as their spinners. They have a potent offence. The two primary players are Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, but spinners also did well in these circumstances. India has a strong attack, so we must play really well to counter it, stated the Australia batter.

     "Each game you play for your nation is significant. Each series has significance. Although the 50-over World Cup is still a ways off, we will concentrate on it later and hope to succeed. There is still Test cricket. It sticks in your memory for a while," he continued.

     "I have so much faith in him; he is a talented performer. A few weeks ago, I met him against (the county side) Glamorgan, and he bowled superbly. He has excellent bowling abilities and has incorporated some of the inswingers we have seen him use on flatter wickets. He is a wonderful package since he has a tonne of skills and plays the bat well. He will undoubtedly perform admirably if given the chance, Smith declared at The Oval.

Overview

     Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are expected to play a significant role, particularly after the pair dominated as India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by defeating Australia in a 2-1 series earlier this year. When India last toured England in 2021–2022, Jadeja was chosen above Ashwin for all five Test matches, including the fourth game at The Oval. This led to the separation of the spin twins.

     While the pair excelled on spinner-friendly surfaces during that series, Ashwin has demonstrated his versatility by taking the third-most wickets in the current WTC cycle with 61 takedowns in 13 Tests.