WTC Final: Strengths, Weaknesses Of India, New Zealand
The World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand gets underway on Friday at the Hampshire Bowl here. Here is a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams: INDIA Strengths: We
INDIA
Trending
Strengths:
Well-rounded bowling: India have variety in their bowling attack. They have experience and youth to pick from and all their bowlers are different. The variety in the bowling attack could keep the New Zealand batsmen on their toes.
Presence of game-changers: Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja are just two of the players who can change the game in a session. Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are the others. Pant has shown, especially in Australia, how he can change the fate of a Test match in one session.
Experience in spin: India's spin duo R Ashwin and Jadeja have travelled to England multiple times. While Ashwin's off-spin was quite handy in Australia, Jadeja has been India's standout spinner in overseas Tests. Both of them have improved as batsmen as well, providing India with depth.
Weaknesses:
Opening batting: India's opening batting pair hasn't been thoroughly tested. While Rohit Sharma has been brilliant in India, he has played only one Test in England. The moving ball could spell trouble for him. Shubman Gill is inexperienced and handling Tim Southee and Trent Boult in England will be different from handling Aussie pace bowlers on flatter, hard surfaces.
Kohli's brain fade: While Virat Kohli leads from the front with the bat and is aggressive in disposition, his captaincy suffers from moments of brain fade. In the past, we have seen him make decisions that have cost India Test matches and thereby the series. While Kohli has had his reasons for those decisions like playing Kuldeep Yadav in England on a green top or resting Bhuvneshwar in Centurion, South Africa, (both in 2018) the losses have brought forth criticism.
No warm-up: Unlike New Zealand, who played two Test matches in England in the lead-up to the World Test Championship final, and managed to get all their players warmed up, India are going into the summit clash without any competitive match practice. All that the Indians got were a few net sessions as well as a three-day intra-squad match simulation.
