The Countdown towards the World Test Championship Finals

The heartbreak of the 2019 World Cup loss in the semi-finals was a real one because India played really well going up to the semi-finals!

But then sports is like that! You end up losing when you least expect it.

Add to it, India’s record against New Zealand in ICC  events has always been a dicey one! Somehow India ends up losing to them consistently! The last time that India won against New Zealand in an ICC event was way back in 2003. The superstitious me always had this doubt hanging and when India lost a hard-fought semi-final, I was not fully surprised!

With the World Cup gone out of hand, I and my friends changed our focus to WTC which was ICC’s latest plan to have a World Test Championship! Right after the World Cup, India travelled to West Indies which was India’s first series in this WTC cycle!

India played like champions and whitewashed West Indies! 

When India beat Australia and then followed that with a 3-1 win against England their participation at the inaugural WTC finals was formalised!

With 3 days to go for the WTC finals, fans are getting visibly excited but people like me are being more pessimistic than optimistic! Once again it’s India’s nemesis, New Zealand who are waiting!

New Zealand has been the only team to have defeated India in a series in this WTC cycle. India was literally pushed aside by them in the 2 match series held in 2020. With New Zealand coming out of a great series win against England, they have their tails up and goes into the finals as the world’s number one side! So if India wins, it would be an upset! It works well for India because going in as favourites never worked for them.

Let’s now look into the playing XIs of both these sides. Both the teams have plenty of choices and it would be interesting to see the starting XI on 18th at Southampton.

For New Zealand, this is the playing XI that I feel is best suited.

Tom Latham

Devon Conway

Kane Williamson

Ross Taylor

Henry Nicholls

DJ Walting

Colin De Grandehomme

Kyle Jamieson

Tim Southee

Matt Henry

Trent Boult

There are two places to debate about. Does New Zealand take the spinner, Ajaz Patel in place of a pace bowler? And the second point of discussion is, do they take Matt Henry in place of Neil Wagner? I give my reasons below.

Some people think that by getting in a spinner you add variety to the attack. It might be true but you need to ask yourself about the quality of the spinner. Ajaz Patel is a good spinner – please don’t take me wrong but India will treat him with disdain. It will become a relief time for Indian batsmen and they might get the momentum back in their favour. The only way you can keep pushing India back is by relentless pace and swing bowling.

Batting well against quality swing bowling is an art and I do not think many batsmen in world cricket can negotiate such swing consistently. So for me, it should be an all-pace attack for New Zealand.

The debate of would they opt for Neil Wagner in place of Matt Henry or Tim Southee, I think they should go with Matt Henry and that’s because he has a great record against India.

Cricket works a lot on confidence. Matt Henry’s performance in the second test against England and his performance in the World Cup semifinals against India should tilt the scale for him.

Coming to India, this is my chosen playing XI:

Rohit Sharma

Shubhman Gill

Chetaswar Pujara

Virat Kohli

Ajinkya Rahane

Rishabh Pant

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ishant Sharma

Md. Shami

Jasprit Bumrah

Not much to debate here other than perhaps why should India opt for 2 spinners and why can’t Siraj replace one of Shami or Ishant. I give my explanations below.

Jadeja is one of the top all-rounders in World Cricket today. You can’t drop him by any analysis because other than batting and bowling, his fielding is something which is least looked at. But as we saw in the Australia series a moment of brilliance can change the course of the match and Jadeja is capable of doing it again. The debate for Jadeja ends there.

Ashwin has been the highest wicket-taker in this WTC cycle. And India played in 3 series outside India. So you drop Ashwin at your own peril. Add to it, his dogged batting technique and he is a must-have in your XI.

With two spinners in the XI, India has 3 spots to be filled by pace bowlers. Bumrah walks in naturally in the XI leaving Umesh, Siraj, Ishant, and Shami to fight for the other 2 spots. Umesh has been highly inconsistent while bowling outside India so he will not be an option right now. The question of real debate is with Md. Siraj. He has been one of the most improved cricketers in the last few months and India has never lost a test match when he has played. The superstitious me wants him in the team. But I think India will go with experience and will start with Ishant and Shami. Ishant being a workhorse helps the captain with long spells and Shami is your go-to man to break partnerships.

So what do you think about my choices?

Who do you think will win the WTC finals? Can India break the Kiwi Jinx?

Do write in as we start the countdown to the biggest test match ever in the history of world cricket at Southampton on 18th June 2021. 

I will be there in front of my TV screen at home. Where are you planning to watch it?

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