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Virat Kohli-captained India squad for WTC final will face-off against Kane Williamson's New Zealand in the first-ever World Test Championship (WTC) final next month.
While there are several permutations and combinations at work, at this stage cricket fans around the world will be happy that this event is going ahead as per the WTC final schedule in these uncertain times.
These two sides not only lead the World Test Championship points table but also the ICC Test rankings. Thus, this will be a contest between two teams at the peak of their game.
Both India and New Zealand were largely successful in their run to the finals. They lost only one Test series in the qualification period, dominated at home and competed well abroad.
However, New Zealand Squad for WTC final will have reasons to believe that they are well-placed to win the WTC final against India. Let's take a look at them.
1. New Zealand have the advantage of conditions
The cricketing world is generally seen as divided into subcontinental and non-subcontinent conditions. However, there are variations within the same as well. For example, teams touring South Africa and Australia have to face-off against hard and bouncy conditions.
Thus, a skilled player from either of these nations finds the going slightly easier when they are touring the other country. For example, David Warner's averages at home (63.2) and at South Africa (63.33) are quite similar.
New Zealand and England have certain similarities in the weather patterns and pitch conditions. The movement off the wicket and swing will surely come to assist the New Zealand cricket team.
Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson will have a definite impact in these conditions, while workhorse Neil Wagner will come in handy by not allowing any space to breathe for the Indian batters.
New Zealand will also take into account the last time they toured England, when they returned after a well-fought 1-1 draw.
It must be stated that they have a mental edge over Indian batsmen given how they defeated them 2-0 in their last tour of New Zealand.
2. Indian cricket team are slow-starters away from home
Barring the tour of Australia in 2018-19, India haven't won the first game of a Test series in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England since 2009.
The last time India toured these nations, they lost the first test in each of them. There are varying reasons for the same, but all of them indicate the fact that Indians start slow in overseas conditions against challenging opposition.
Get all updates about WTC final live score here.
Often, issues lie around the inability of the Indian team to get their selection right (such as the dropping of Cheteshwar Pujara from the first Test of the 2018 Pataudi Trophy) and the lack of match practice. (India did not play a practice match before the 2018 Freedom Trophy)
The Black Caps will look to capitalize on these weaknesses to get further ahead in the WTC final.
3. Match practice for New Zealand
While India is slated to leave on June 2 for their long tour of England, New Zealand would already have played a practice match and a two-Test match series before the WTC final.
The Indian side can make use of their extended squad for match practice; however, nothing compares to experience in competitive cricket.
During the tour of England in 2018, India decided to trim a first-class game into a practice match and the result showed during the Test series, where the visitors took some time before getting into the groove.
The individual performances showed that India had a team which was more than a match for the English side, but the lack of match practice didn't help their case.
Also, it must be kept in mind that New Zealand will be playing cricket against the England Test side. There is no substitute for Test match practice before an important encounter like the WTC final.
With IPL 2021 postponed as well, Indian players will play little to zero competitive cricket before the WTC final on June 18.
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