"It's a long shot right now. It will take us a miracle to win from where we were yesterday. At least, we are not going down to a humiliating defeat," Tharoor told ANI in London on Friday.
Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane crossed the 5000-run mark in the Test format and became the 13th Indian batter to achieve the milestone on Friday against Australia in the World Test Championship final at the Oval.
Even as Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur managed to reignite India's hope of making a comeback in the WTC final, Australian bowlers once again showcased their prowess, with skipper Pat Cummins dismissing Rahane at the beginning of the second session.
Ahead of the Ashes series starting from June 16, England vice-captain Ollie Pope has said lauded the abilities of Australian batter Steve Smith and said he loves playing in English conditions
Australia's star batter Steve Smith has praised pacer Scott Boland for his bowling on the second day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval on Thursday
India went to Lunch at 260/6 of 60 overs, with Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane surviving some anxious moments at the crease to stay unbeaten at the personal scores of 36(83)* and 89(122)* respectively.
"I said it initially when Bazball started that I'm intrigued to see how it goes against our bowlers. I've said that all along," Smith said as quoted by ICC.
While Ponting thought India's tactics were incorrect on the first day, he was impressed with their second-day fightback, as they bundled out Australia for 469.
Australian attack ripped through India's top order to leave Rohit Sharma's lead side five down and still trailing by 318 runs at the time of stumps on Thursday.
Australia have dominated the majority of the opening two days of the 'Ultimate Test' at The Oval on the back of centuries from batters Travis Head and Steve Smith and outstanding bowling performances from their pacers.