Southampton: India will go with three pacers and two spinners against New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final starting on Friday in Southampton. This is the first time the teams are playing a Test at a neutral venue, and that’s what makes the battle even more interesting. The India playing XI was announced on Thursday.
India were No.1 team for the past three years and dominated both at home and overseas. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open the innings, while Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will come in at No.3 and 4 respectively. Ajinkya Rahane will be batting at No.5 with Rishabh Pant to follow.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will be the two X-Factors for India in the lower-middle order and might be the game-changer for India in the both batting and bowling department. Irrespective of the conditions, India will go with three speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, who have been great with the red ball for India.
India have announced their playing XI for #WTC21 Final 👇 pic.twitter.com/tcNpY9o4hc
— ICC (@ICC) June 17, 2021
For the two captains and teams involved, this is also a golden opportunity to engrave their names into the history of cricket as the first champion of WTC. Especially for Kohli, who has already proved his mettle as a captain and a cricketer. But being India’s most successful Test captain so far, he has not been able to win any major title for the team.
After the first match of the WTC final, Virat Kohli will add another feather to his cap as he will be the only player to have played all the final matches in any ICC event. The Men in Blue never won a match against New Zealand in any ICC event and that’s what bothering mostly to the side.
Even last time when they met in an ICC event, Williamson’s side ousted India out in the 2019 World Cup semifinal at Old Trafford. Many legends of the game have already said that New Zealand are in a driving seat ahead of the final having already played two Tests matches against England.
New Zealand have also beaten Indian 2-0 in a two-match series at home in February 2020. English conditions are known to suit the swing bowlers and New Zealand will try to exploit the conditions with the likes of Trent Boult, Kylie Jamieson and Neil Wagner expected to do the damage.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.
