WTC Final: Craig McMillan says Colin de Grandhomme can do what Rishabh Pant couldn't

Craig McMillan previewed Day 5 of the World Test Championship Final, suggesting that Colin de Grandhomme may be the trump card for New Zealand in the first innings. The former cricketer explained how De Grandhomme may be able to score quickly on a tough wicket, something which Rishabh Pant wasn’t able to do for India.

He spoke to the ICC ahead of the day’s action and stated he is looking forward to seeing Colin de Grandhomme bat for the Blackcaps.

“They’ve got the likes of Henry Nicholls and it is a strong New Zealand batting line-up. They’ve got Colin de Grandhomme who does score quickly. He might be one of the few guys in this game who might be able to score quickly. He is a boundary hitter, likes going after the bowling. It will be interesting to see how he bats. A little bit like Rishabh Pant who tried to do that for India but it couldn’t come off. So I am looking forward to seeing how Colin de Grandhomme approaches his innings,” Craig McMillan explained.

“It’s advantage New Zealand, but it’s a pitch you can get rolled on.”@Nassercricket and @cmacca10 preview day five of the #WTC21 Final. pic.twitter.com/UuqKhv62Ab

— ICC (@ICC) June 22, 2021

Scoring runs has been tough at Southampton, with batsmen from both sides taking their time to get used to the tricky conditions. Some disciplined bowling has kept the batsmen in check.

Craig McMillan feels Colin de Grandhomme, who has a career strike rate of 81.50 in Tests, could make all the difference in a game where runs have been hard to come by.

“It’s been hard scoring, it’s been a lot of help for the bowlers, batting has been difficult. The scoring rate has only been 2.27 rpo throughout the Test which I think is the lowest ever for a Test in the UK this century. So scoring runs hasn’t been easy,” Craig McMillan pointed out.

New Zealand would want a first-innings lead: Craig McMillan

#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 strike at the stroke of Stumps on Day 3️⃣Ishant picks half-centurion Conway 👌🏻New Zealand 🇳🇿 lose 2️⃣ wicketsDay 4️⃣ promises to be an exciting one tomorrow #WTC21Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/CmrtWscFua pic.twitter.com/VkQdragnbr

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2021

New Zealand will begin the day just 116 runs behind India. With eight wickets in hand, and Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor at the crease, Craig McMillan feels partnerships across the board hold the key for the Kiwis.

“New Zealand would want a first-innings lead. Whatever happens, they would want to get ahead of India and that’ll give them some safety in the match. To do that they’re going to rely on partnerships right throughout their order. Obviously, they’ve got their two most experienced and best players on the crease at the moment. So they’ll be expecting a lot from Taylor and Williamson. New Zealand will obviously talk about partnerships, processes and all the basics. They’ll focus on batting as long as they can, get ahead of India and then the pressure goes back on them if they want to try and get something out of the game,” Craig McMillan signed off.

Many feel a New Zealand win or a draw are the only likely outcomes considering the time left in World Test Championship Final. But with two days of action still to go and things changing quickly in England, anything can happen in the showpiece event.