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Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins believes the conditions in England will give the NZ squad for WTC final an edge over Team India in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The showpiece finale will be played from June 18-22 at Southampton as per WTC final schedule, where conditions might suit swing bowlers more.
Since such overcast and chilly conditions are encountered often in New Zealand, Pat Cummins feels they would be better adapted and prepared than Virat Kohli captained India squad for WTC final.
But at the same time, the 28-year-old also believes anything can happen as both teams are equally skilled.
In a live Q & A session on his YouTube channel, Pat Cummins opened up about the WTC final and the chances of both teams to lay hands on the inaugural title.
"It will be a good match. There has been a lot of rain in England and from the conditions point of view, it is closer to New Zealand's. It is going to be interesting as both teams haven't played a Test match since a couple of months. It is a one-off so anything can happen. But the conditions would suit New Zealand more than India," Pat Cummins opined.
Pat Cummins has his say on the much-debated Indian pitches
In India's recent Test series at home against England, some of the pitches came under immense scrutiny, especially from a few former cricketers. Many believed the rank turners that were produced were like a 'dustbowl' or a 'beach' and it was against the spirit of the game.
While Pat Cummins agrees that conditions in India do not favor fast bowlers, he thinks playing in the subcontinent nation is something that pacers need to be able to adjust to.
Check out the World Test Championship live final score.
He feels the focus of a fast bowler can be shifted to keeping things as tight as possible if there is no assistance from the pitch.
"My opinion is probably different to that of a lot of batsmen around the world. Sometimes they are spin-friendly but otherwise, they are pretty flat. There is not as much pace and bounce as you might find in Australia or South Africa or as much seam and swing as in England. But it is a challenge and you need to adjust to that. Your role may be that of keeping the runs per over as low as possible," Pat Cummins asserted.
India and New Zealand have arguably been the two best teams in the 2019-21 WTC cycle as per WTC points table and have deservedly made it to the final.
It will be interesting to see how the arm-wrestle pans out and who ends up as the inaugural champion.
