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India and New Zealand
The countdown for the first-ever ICC World Test Championship has begun. India will be facing New Zealand in the finals. In just over a month, the top test cricket teams in the world will play against each other for the championship title. The match is hosted by Southampton in England.
13 innings have been played at Southampton’s Rose Bowl since 2018. It is a bowler-friendly wicket. Batting would play a crucial role in this wicket with quality bowlers playing on both sides.
Ahead of the final clash, let us look at some of the top-ranked batters who will be expected to play a crucial role on both sides.
Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
The 30-year-old batsman has a number one ICC Test ranking for batting with 919 points. Kane Williamson is the backbone of the New Zealand batting unit. He is expected to lead the team to win the finals this time after the 2019 defeat against England.
Williamson has made an impressive record with the bat over the past two and a half years. However, his record against India is not very well. His test record in England is also not much impressive. Although he has not done well in England, the conditions there this time around will be similar to his home. With familiar conditions, he can champion the final game. The only ICC tournament win for New Zealand was the 2000 champions trophy where they beat India.
Virat Kohli (India)
The skipper of team India ranks number 5 in the ICC Test rank for batting with 814 points. Virat Kohli is as important to India as Williamson is to New Zealand. Kohli and Williamson have contested against each other in some memorable battles starting from under-19 cricket. The 32-year-old batsman has played some crucial knocks previously to bail India out of difficult situations.
He had registered some excellent numbers during the England tour in 2018. Kohli made 593 runs at an average of 59.3. If he is in the best form in the biggest test match of his career, India can win the championship.
Rishab Pant (India)
With 747 to his credit, Pant has an ICC Test rank for batting at number six. He has been the biggest success for team India in the 2020-21 season. He helped India create history at history at Brisbane. Rishab Pant became the captain of the Delhi capitals in the IPL 2021. He is also the first wicketkeeper-batsman to rank in the top 10 of the ICC batting rankings. In a span of 20 tests, he has players some finest knocks. He made his first test hundred in England. India’s proficiency in the middle order for the game rests heavily on Pant.
Rohit Sharma (India)
He shares the sixth spot in the ICC Test ranking for batting with Rishab Pant. The 34-year-old batsman had played an instrumental role in helping India qualify for the WTC final. He made his test debut in 2013 but he started opening in the format in 2019. As an opening batsman, he has four centuries and an average of over 64.
Henry Nicholls (New Zealand)
Nicholls is the third batsman to share the sixth position with Pant and Sharma in the ICC Test ranking for batting. He is one of the mainstays of the middle order for the Kiwis. In 2020-21, he scored 405 runs at an average of 81. It helped him gain significant ICC rankings for batsmen. He has continued his rich form and made 229 runs at an average of 57 in the Plunket Shield. However, his record playing red-ball cricket and playing against India has not been the best so far.
The two test matches against England before the WTC finals should help him get familiar with conditions in England.