WTC final: "India got a bit confident in picking that side three days before the game"- Alastair Cook

Former England skipper Alastair Cook has suggested India got a little bit overconfident by picking their side well in advance for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand.

The WTC final saw two full days washed out due to rain, and the overcast and wet conditions were conducive for seam bowlers for most of the Test match. However, India went in with two frontline spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, a decision which raised quite a few eyebrows.

Speaking on the BBC's Tuffer and Vaughan Podcast, Alastair Cook stated:

"They (India) got a bit confident in picking that side three days out before (the game) and playing two spinners where they pretty much knew it was going to rain for a lot of that game. So a lot of seam bowling was bowled. Even though their spinners are world-class, they got a little bit ahead of themselves there."

🙌 CHAMPIONS 🙌#WTC21 Final | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/MnqoZ6XzKy

— ICC (@ICC) June 23, 2021

Alastair Cook termed India "a great side" but added that England would fancy their chances in the upcoming five-match Test series starting in August if the ball continues to move around.

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"India were hard done by that way"- Alastair Cook on New Zealand playing two Tests ahead of WTC final

The @BLACKCAPS dressing room the moment Ross Taylor hit the winning runs in the #WTC21 Final 📹 pic.twitter.com/FAO5vuYGd8

— ICC (@ICC) June 23, 2021

Alastair Cook had predicted New Zealand would win the WTC final, and his premonition turned out to be true. The former England skipper stated that he went with the Kiwis because they were match-hardened after playing a two-match Test series against the English earlier. The Blackcaps won the Test series against England 1-0 and then backed it up with a resounding eight-wicket win over India in the WTC final.

Alastair Cook empathized with India's situation as they had to rely on intrasquad games to get up to match speed before the WTC final.

"I did say New Zealand were going to win that game purely down to the fact that they were match-hardened. Those two Test matches against England were such perfect preparation. And intra-squad games, as good as your intention might be, it hasn't got the same intensity. First hour might be really competitive but everything goes less and less and less. India were hard done by that way," Cook added.

India will be hoping for better results this time around when they lock horns against the English in a five-match Test series. The last time Virat Kohli and co-toured England in 2018, they lost the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin.