WTC 2023 Final India vs Australia: When and where to watch the test match via TV, live streaming

WTC Final: Team India will be playing against Australia in the much-awaited World Test Championship final at The Oval starting from Wednesday. This year’s match, branded as the ‘Ultimate Test’, will be India's second-successive appearance in the annual tournament.  

In the last edition, which was the first of this series, India was defeated by New Zealand. This year Team India, with Rohit Sharma as their captain, qualified for the final during its last bilateral series of the edition against Australia. 

Where to watch: On TV 

The final test match of the tournament will be telecast live on Star Sports network. According to the broadcaster, the game will be live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu and Star Sports 1 Kannada. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that the broadcast of the final will be free in India on government-owned television channel Doordarshan's ‘DD Sports’. The ICC also informed that the telecast of the final is estimated to reach a global audience of nearly 700 million. 

“The final of the second edition of the championship, that ran from 2021 to 2023, will be broadcast across the globe to attract a potential audience of 700 million people across 100 territories through ICC’s official broadcast licensees,” the ICC notification read. 

“In India, the Star Sports network will showcase the English World Feed and provide regional coverage in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. Their digital platform Disney+ Hotstar will show live coverage of each day’s play. India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan will also carry live coverage of each day’s play via their DD Sports channel,” it added. 

Where to watch: Online and mobile 

Viewers and cricket enthusiasts can watch the WTC 2023 final live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar app and website. One can subscribe to the platform Disney+ Hotstar to watch India vs. Australia WTC 2023 final online. The subscription for Disney+ Hotstar Premium is Rs 1,499/year, and Disney+ Hotstar Super is Rs 899/year. 

Match duration and timings 

The match will start at 3.00 PM IST, the toss is scheduled for 2.30 PM. The match is scheduled to span five days, from June 7 to June 11. The ICC has kept a reserve day, which could be used depending on weather disruption. 

WTC 2023 Final: India Squad 

Both the teams will be missing some key players ahead of the WTC final. India’s pacer Jasprit Bumrah, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul won’t be playing due to their respective injuries. 

The final squad for India is: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat. 

Standby: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav. 

On the other hand, Australia will see its Josh Hazlewood miss the final Test due to injuries in his ankle and left arm. 

The final squad for Australia: Pat Cummins (C), , Steve Smith (VC), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Michael Neser. 

Standby: Mitch Marsh, Matthew Renshaw 

Match prediction 

Many experts have said that India has an upper hand due to its stellar performance in recent encounters. But it is to be noted that it has failed miserably in several ICC international tournaments. India won the three match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 in India earlier this year. 

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was at the position during the side's appearance in the inaugural final two years ago, stated in the release that India have a chance to go “one better” this time. 

“India and Australia have had some epic encounters in the past, and they are two tough sides who will give everything to lift the mace. This is The Ultimate Test, and it will take not only talent and flair but a lot of grit and determination to come out on top. India have been in the final before and this is a chance for them to go one better,” he said. 

On the other hand, legendary players Wasim Akram, Ricky Ponting and Ross Taylor have predicted a victory for the Kangaroos. 

 "I think going into this Test match Australia are slightly favourites, although (Josh) Hazlewood is out and he would have been very handy on this pitch," Akram said.  

Ponting said: “Australia are just favourites... India have got a couple of little uncertain areas in their team I think in terms of how selection and injuries are concerned," he said. 

Taylor said India has suffered a setback due to speedster Jasprit Bumrah's injury. "...I think Australia play here a lot in the Ashes series, and losing Bumrah is a massive loss for India," he said. 

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