For many Indian players, the World Test Championship final will be like playing in the World Cup: R Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin’s performances in the Test series against England has helped India book a berth in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC). The off-spinner believes the WTC final at Lord’s will be like playing in the finals of the World Cup for many of his teammates.

India will take on New Zealand, the only side they lost a series against in the WTC 2019-21 cycle.

In the post-match press conference, Ashwin expressed his delight on qualifying for the WTC final. He also stated he was elated for the side’s most experienced Test cricketer Ishant Sharma, who is yet to play in a World Cup.

“A lot of our team members haven’t played in a World Cup. I am happy for someone like Ishant Sharma, who couldn’t play in a World Cup. This will be like playing the World Cup final,” said Ashwin, who bagged his eighth Man of the Series award in Test cricket.

Surprised that India needed to win the last Test to qualify for WTC final: R Ashwin

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, India were leading the WTC points table. A couple of series being canceled forced the ICC to reassess the scoring system and points were replaced with percentages. This pushed India lower down the ladder due to their series defeat in Australia.

It eventually came down to the final Test of the India-England series’s final and the team had to avoid a defeat to ensure qualification. Expressing his surprise, Ashwin stated:

“It’s the result of the hard work we have put in for several years now. Over the past six series, we really fought hard, got most of the points, and just lost three (four) games in the entire cycle.

"Surprisingly, it had to come down to this last Test for us to secure qualification in the final. It was due to some last-minute changes in the format due to COVID-19," added Ashwin.

India have the best win-loss ratio in the table at 1.577. The win helped India book a berth in the final and ensured they finished at the top spot with 72.2 PCT, while New Zealand finished with 70 PCT.

The tournament final is scheduled to take place between June 18th and 22nd at Lord’s in London.