WTC Final: "India has to take Kane Williamson's wicket to win this Test match" - Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel has said that Team India will have to dismiss Kane Williamson cheaply if they are to win the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Kane Williamson is expected to lead the Blackcaps in the WTC Final against India, starting at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on June 18. The touch artist will hope to make a telling contribution with the bat in the title decider.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Parthiv Patel pointed out that scalping Kane Williamson's wicket would be the key to India's success in the clash.

"India has to take Kane Williamson's wicket to win this Test match. They will have to create pressure. Quite a few times when the batsman is playing well, the plan should be how to bowl the maidens and make the run-scoring difficult for him."

The former India wicket-keeper highlighted that Kane Williamson has a well-rounded game with no apparent weakness.

"If you talk about the plan to dismiss him, Kane Williamson does not have difficulties against any particular delivery, whether it is outswing or inswing because he is a complete batsman."

Kane Williamson is the top-ranked batsman in the ICC Test rankings and has an excellent average of 53.60 in Tests. However, he has not enjoyed similar success against India, having averaged 36.40 against them in the longest format of the game.

Most times averaging 50+ in a calendar year in Tests since 2010:-[min. 400 runs in a year]6: Kane Williamson5: Steven Smith5: Virat Kohli5: Azhar Ali5: Ross Taylor#WTCFinal

— ComeOn Cricket 🏏🇮🇳 (@ComeOnCricket) June 8, 2021

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"Kane Williamson is probably the best Test captain in the world" - Ajit Agarkar

Kane Williamson is known to be an astute captain

Ajit Agarkar termed Kane Williamson the best Test captain of the current era.

"According to me, Kane Williamson is probably the best Test captain in the world. The demeanor and nature he has, he always remains calm, he would surely be feeling the pressure, every captain and player feels the pressure but if you do not show it, the team gets more confidence."

The former India pacer was particularly appreciative of Kane Williamson's ability to absorb pressure.

"When the pressure is seen on someone's face or through their actions, it spreads in the team. So that has been his strength and he knows the team very well."

Kane Williamson will miss the second Test of the ongoing series against England due to an elbow injury. The Blackcaps skipper will hope to recover in time to lead his team in the WTC final.

"I am sure Kane Williamson will be back and play WTC Final against India." - Tom Latham (In Press)

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) June 9, 2021