Cummins happy to be 'underdone than overdone'; 'getting mentally ready' key for Rohit

Are the Indians better prepared because they are coming off the IPL, or will the long break for many of the Australians benefit them?

ITDC INDIA E PRESS /ITDC NEWS :  Fourteen out of the 15 India players who feature in the World Test Championship (WTC) final were active in the IPL, which coursed through April and May at high intensity. Only two of the Australians - David Warner and Cameron Green - featured in the IPL, while Michael Neser, Steven Smith, Marcus Harris and Marnus Labuschagne have been playing county cricket.

Most members of the Australia squad for the WTC final haven't played much competitive cricket since the four-match Test series in India that ended in early March. Neither teams has played any Test cricket since that series. Which brings us to the question: in terms of preparation, who between India and Australia are better prepared for the final which starts at The Oval on Wednesday?

While some in Australia, including Ricky Ponting, are not sure, Australia captain Pat Cummins is clear that a break will prove beneficial for his team, especially because the WTC final will be followed by the five-Test Ashes series, which will be wrapped up in five weeks.

"Yeah, they [breaks] are rare to come by," Cummins prefaced his answer on the importance of having a break when players' workloads have been immense across the three formats, including franchise-based tournaments.

"So, yeah, we try and take a break when we can. I've always said that we have got six Test matches in the next two months, I'd much prefer to be slightly underdone than overdone. That's from a bowler's point of view. I always feel like it doesn't take too much to kind of get ready. And then I want to make sure I'm fresh physically for the matches."

Cummins opted out of this year's IPL - a decision he had taken well before he left the India tour after the first two Tests for family reasons. At an ICC event to celebrate Test cricket on Sunday at The Oval, Cummins said his team was ready for India, having arrived in London "refreshed" on the back of a three-day training camp in Beckenham.

"We have had some really good training at Beckenham the last week," he said. "Obviously back home, we did a lot of training as well. So everyone's come in, we've trained really hard, everyone's rejuvenated, refreshed and pretty keen."

Minutes earlier, at the same event, Ponting had said he wasn't sure which team was better prepared, though he gave Australia a "slight" edge because of the more Australia-like conditions at The Oval, where the bounce is good, the square boundaries are long, and the forecast is for lots of warm weather.

"Everyone's come in, we've trained really hard, everyone's rejuvenated, refreshed and pretty keen"•ICC via Getty Images

"As far as preparation is concerned, some of the Australians have done nothing - they haven't been playing any cricket at all," Ponting said. "At least all the Indian guys have been playing very competitive cricket in the IPL. So coming in fresh without any cricket, is that better? Or is it coming in maybe slightly jaded, slightly tired on the back