"You could have played Ashwin easily if you had batted" - Aakash Chopra on India's mistakes in the WTC final

Aakash Chopra feels India looking to bowl first and thereby leaving Ravichandran Ashwin out of their XI was one of their mistakes in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Rohit Sharma and Co. played four seamers and a solitary spinner in Ravindra Jadeja and opted to bowl first on a green top at The Oval in London. The decision backfired as India conceded 469 runs in the first innings and eventually lost the game by 209 runs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on the areas where India faltered. Regarding their team selection and decision at the toss, he said:

"If you dissect this match, you should have probably batted first after winning the toss. You could have played Ashwin easily if you had batted - three fast bowlers and the two spinners, both of whom can bat."

The former Indian opener reckons India could have played Ashwin in place of Shardul Thakur:

"Then you could have gone with Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav/Jaydev Unadkat/Shardul Thakur. Shardul will not be the third fast bowler in my personal team. He can be the fourth fast bowler. I personally don't consider Shardul a third fast bowler. Don't know whether it is right or wrong but that's what I feel."

Shardul proved right his selection with an all-round performance in the WTC final. The seam-bowling all-rounder picked up two wickets in Australia's first innings and scored crucial 51 runs in India's first essay, which gave them a semblance of a chance to stage a comeback in the game.

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"The bowling was extremely ordinary in the first innings" - Aakash Chopra

Travis Head carted the Indian bowlers all around the park.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that India's bowling and batting, except Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, were found wanting in the first innings:

"You bowled first and the bowling was extremely ordinary in the first innings. We didn't bowl well - 469 runs. Batting was also quite ordinary. It was Thakur alongside Ajinkya Rahane that saved India the blushes."

Chopra concluded by observing that barring a little fightback by the bowlers, India did not cover themselves in glory in the second innings either:

"After that, the Indian bowlers did make a slight comeback but they also ran out of steam. Then the batting collapsed once again."

The Indian bowlers restricted Australia to 167/6 but then allowed them to reach 270/8 before they declared their second innings. Virtually all top-order Indian batters played irresponsible shots and threw away their wickets in their second essay on a pitch that wasn't offering much assistance to the bowlers.