WTC finalists Aus hope to maintain momentum

'…The players and staff deserve a lot of credit for the standard of cricket we have played over the past two years. It would be a great reward for everyone to finish as World Test Champions.'

Australia's convincing nine-wicket triumph over India in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indore helped them book a place at this year's ICC World Test Championship Final.

They have been dominant in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, having won 11 out of 18 contests. Currently placed at top of the standings with 68.52 percent of their possible WTC points, Australia will remain at the first position regardless of the remaining results.

Smith, who stood in for Australia’s regular captain Pat Cummins in the third Test, applauded the side for booking a berth in the WTC final.

“It's incredibly rewarding to qualify for our first ICC World Test Championship Final,” Smith told ICC. “It has been a goal of ours for quite a while now. The players and staff deserve a lot of credit for the standard of cricket we have played over the past two years. It would be a great reward for everyone to finish as World Test Champions.

“To also be able to play the WTC final ahead of the Ashes means it will be a great opportunity for our fans to lengthen their stays to come and watch us at The Oval. We still have one Test to play here in India where we hope to maintain this momentum.”

India lead the four-game series 2-1 and have a chance to book a berth in the final alongside Australia with a win in the final Test in Ahmedabad. If they fail to do so, they will have to depend on New Zealand to do them a favour against Sri Lanka.