Fans expecting a hassle-free World Test Championship final without rain interruptions should prepare for an additional day of play on book day unless bowlers wreak havoc at Rose Bowl, Southampton. The weather forecast shows thunderstorms, morning showers, passing showers on most days of play that will make it hard for groundsmen to maintain the earth dry.As per the weather prediction from accuweather.com, it is more likely to rain on June 19, June 20, and June 22 than on the other two days. But, the weather won’t be shining during the day’s play on June 18 and June 21 either. On the day, rain is expected to disrupt play.
WTC was launched to attempt to add context to Evaluation cricket.Team India and the Kiwis will be battling it out over the weekend to lift the first-ever Test championship name — combined with $1.6 million in prize money and the iconic Test Mace. The losing team will get $800,000 for finishing second in the nine-team competition.The two sides will divide the entire prize money of $2.4 million in case of a draw.
The teams’ travel so farRELATED STORIESMonsoon Update: Delhi receives mild rainfall, will need to wait longer for monsoon showersStreet stakes on revenge spending; Here are the stocks to watch out forMumbai home society COVID-19 vaccination fraud? : Police, BMC start probeThe Indian team defeated West Indies 2-0 from the Caribbean, South Africa 3-0 and Bangladesh 2-0 in the home, lost to New Zealand 2-0 away prior to the pandemic. India then conquered Australia down under 2-1 and England 3-1 at home before this year.On the other hand, New Zealand pulled against Sri Lanka 1-1 away, lost to Australia 0-3 off before beating India 2-0 at home.
Following the pandemic, the Kiwis won from West Indies and Pakistan 2-0 each at home.With a win percentage of 72.2 and 70 respectively, India and New Zealand completed as two and one on the table and qualified for the final. It was just recently that New Zealand toppled India as the world’s top-ranked Evaluation team on the ICC ranking. However, the two sides are separated by only two evaluation points.Will Kohli’s ICC trophy drought end?This is the first ICC event closing because the 2019 Cricket World Cup’s finale where hosts England beat Williamson-led Kiwis”from the barest of margins,” as cricketer-turned-commentator Ian Smith explained. That was the nearest New Zealand have been to winning an ICC event.This closing is another chance for Williamson’s side to win some high silverware.Kohli has a 60 percent win record as a Test captain (68 percent in ODIs and 64.4 percent in T20Is). But he still has not captained the side to an ICC championship title since taking over from MS Dhoni in every format year ago.
The top-ranked sides have gathered enough points to make the rights to struggle for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship trophy, with the finale in the Rose Bowl beginning June 18. (More Cricket News)The finalists have termed their respective 15-member squads for the five-day showdown, which is predicted to be an edge of the seat thriller. Both sides have some of the best operators in the game, let alone the arrangement. Thus, it’s only fitting to provide a lowdown on some probable match-ups. Here are top-five clashes that will settle the problem:
He’s 7490 runs in the conventional format of this game, at a mean of 52.37 (in 153 innings) with 27 centuries. But the last time the 32-year-old struck a Test ton was in 2019, against Bangladesh in Kolkata. He’s played seven Tests, including two against New Zealand wherein four unique bowlers had dismissed him, with the maximum score of 74 against Australia in Adelaide.Virat Kohli and Tim SoutheeSo, a lot to work for the modern day legend.
He sure will be up against a powerful pace attack in Southampton, with a particular Tim Southee in the middle. The Kiwi fast has dismissed Kohi less than 10 times, including three in Evaluation, same as by Trent Boult. If the top-three failed to fire, India will need Kohli at his best and the skipper will have to tackle Kiwi pacers, particularly the expert Southee. The 32-year-old has 309 wickets from 78 matches in an average of 28.31. He’s almost unplayable under overcast conditions.
Within this WTC campaign, he’s taken 51 wickets in 20.66, and he enjoys bowling against India.Kane Williamson (NZ) vs Jasprit Bumrah (IND)Well, the opposing captain is having some run even though Steve Smith just dislodged him as the top-ranked Test batsman. Kane Williamson, the affable and definitely among the nicest men in world cricket, is searching for an English redemption after New Zealand’s heart-breaking ODI World Cup final defeat. However, for Williamson, the Evaluation mace might well be the greatest trophy in cricket. And he’s coming to the finale with a great deal of runs — 251 vs West Indies, 129+21 vs Pakistan and another double ton (238) against Pakistan. But he is raring to go.
World Test Championship Final, India Vs New Zealand: Players To Watch Out ForHere’s a look at the top players from both India and New Zealand before the World Test Championship (WTC) closing at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, beginning from June 18. © AFPHighlightsIndia take on New Zealand at the WTC final start on FridayBoth teams have several quality players that can make the differenceWe Have a Look at the top players from both sides
The date of June 18 will be a historical day for the cricket calendar because the first-ever World Test Championship final will pit two of the world’s greatest Test sides, India and New Zealand, in the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. While New Zealand are coming out of a new 1-0 win against hosts England at a two-Test series, the Indian team have been prepping through regular training and an intra-squad match in the match venue. Both teams have immense depth in their squads overall, comprising some high-profile professional batters and bowlers.While India boasts the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah in their group,
New Zealand have an equally skilled squad composed of skipper Kane Williamson, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee and Tom Latham.Here’s a look at the top 3 players from both teams to see at the WTC Final:IndiaVirat Kohli: The Indian captain’s previous record and tours of England defines the way the right-wing maestro learnt from each of his previous excursions in the nation. With the incentive of leading the country to its maiden WTC triumph, Kohli can be expected to dictate terms when he gets a steady start at the beginning and his eye in.The India captain had a torrid time with the bat when he toured England but redeemed himself when he travelled to England in 2018 by outscoring everyone.
Rishabh Pant: The volatile Indian wicketkeeper-batsman has been among the most highly-rated participant in world cricket for the past of couple of years. Pant’s unorthodox batsmanship and his temperament of taking the game to the opposition, irrespective of the circumstance, can surely be the X-factor that India need against a strong New Zealand attack.The youthful wicketkeeper-batsman declared himself in Test cricket by beating Adil Rashid for a six over long-on in his debut match.
His greatest score came in the Oval when he smashed 114 runs.Jasprit Bumrah: A bowling attack between Jasprit Bumrah gives an excess tooth to the Indian group. And alongside the likes of Mohammed Shami, Bumrah can wreak havoc against any batting order on earth. His peculiar action and the ability to make the ball slide off the surface makes it hard to get a batsman to cope with.Bumrah has been India’s go-to bowler no matter the conditions. Williamson has been in tremendous form at the longest format of the match with two double centuries in the summer of 2020-21 (251 and 238 from the West Indies and Pakistan respectively).
Despite scoring a hundred at Lord’s, Williamson, in five Tests in the united kingdom, has only 261 runs beneath his belt.Ross Taylor: One of the most experienced members of the New Zealand squad, Taylor creates the backbone of the batting middle-order. His ability to change gears against twist in addition to speed makes him a key figure against the caliber Indian twist of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.The veteran batsman averages over 40 in England in Test cricket.