India and New Zealand will be facing each other in the finals of the inaugural world test championship.
Test cricket is considered as the superiormost format of cricket and if a global event in the Test format is conducted then we can say that it should be the superiormost among all ICC events. That is how big the weightage of this Inaugural World Test Championship is. The World Test Championship Final slated to start on the 18th of June would arguably be the biggest cricket match ever to be played in the 144 year history of officially recognised international cricket and although a comparison between the two would be pretty unfair but supposing we are forced to compare, then hands down even a World Cup seems inferior in front of a World Test Championship in terms of the value that it holds as the winner of it would be crowned as the champions of the superiormost format of cricket.
It's quite often that the two teams, India and New Zealand, are compared to fire and ice respectively. It has all to do with their passion on the field. Two different styles, but one similar goal of aiming the win. It'd be interesting to see how the two teams go about things on the big day.
HOW THE TEAMS HAVE STACKED UP?
India plays the finals on the back of a sensational away series win in Australia and a home series win against England. On the other hand, New Zealand has got a terrific boost to their confidence with their first series win in England in 21 years.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
India and New Zealand have been quite rivals in the longest format of the game over the years. Both the teams have faced each other 59 times in tests of which India have won 21 matches and New Zealand have won 12 and 26 other games resulted in a draw. In the most recent series, India was thrashed 2-0 by New Zealand in 2020.
THE WARRIORS
Both the teams have announced their 15-members squad for the match.
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (WK)
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham (VC), Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (WK), Will Young
Courtesy - ICC.
PITCH, CONDITIONS, AND WEATHER
The match will be played at Southampton over a period of five days. Traditionally, the pitch has played well throughout the game. The first two days would assist the pacers, while the batsmen could still apply themselves and score runs. The last two days might aid spinners as the pitch becomes dry. The weather though isn't encouraging as there's a forecast of rain on all five days of the play.
Courtesy - ESPN Cricinfo
WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH?
The match would be played at Southampton cricket ground in England. It would start at 3:00 pm (IST) in India. The Star sports network would be involved in telecasting of the match and the live streaming would be available in the Disney Plus Hotstar app.
