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Leading into their World Test Championship (WTC) final clash against New Zealand, India played an intra-squad game at Southampton to get an idea of the conditions that await them and gather some much needed match practice.
After the game, India announced their 15-man squad for the WTC final. Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shardul Thakur, and Washington Sundar were unlucky to be left out from the final contingent.
India possesses one of the best bowling attacks in Test cricket today. Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, and Umesh Yadav are deadly options among the pace attack. India also have two excellent spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to support the quick bowlers in the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl.
In recent times, player matchups have become a crucial part of formulating team strategies. Virat Kohli might look closely at individual matchups and try to use them to pick up crucial wickets during the WTC final.
Key battles like Kane Williamson against Bumrah, Ross Taylor against Ishant and Tom Latham against Shami might go a long way in deciding the fate of the WTC summit clash.
On that note, let's look at how Indian bowlers have fared against the current Kiwi batters in Tests going into the WTC final.
WTC Final: How Indian Bowlers have fared against current New Zealand Batsmen
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is likely to spearhead the Indian bowling attack in the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl. The veteran pacer will hope to bring his immense experience and abilities to the fore against the Kiwis and help India win the inaugural WTC final.
Ishant has had decent outings in English County cricket in the past and was also India's best bowler during the previous England tour in 2018. The 32-year-old can bowl long spells and tie one end up, which will allow his peers to attack in short, effective bursts from the other end.
Ishant has picked up 35 wickets against the Kiwis across seven Test matches, with best figures of 6/51 at Wellington in 2014. He has three 5-wicket hauls against New Zealand in Tests.
Ishant's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
Ross Taylor - 4 dismissals (11 innings)
BJ Watling - 3 dismissals (6 innings)
Tom Latham - 2 dismissals (4 innings)
Tom Blundell - 1 dismissal (2 innings)
Kane Williamson - 1 dismissal (8 innings)
Jasprit Bumrah
Over the past few years, Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as one of the leading bowlers of this generation. His uncanny ability to adapt quickly to different conditions and produce match-winning contributions has turned him into one of the best bowlers in the world.
He can consistently bowl nagging lengths and test both the edges of the bat. Coupled with that, he also has a variety of yorkers and knuckleballs in his arsenal. All these traits make him a potent threat to the Kiwis' batting line-up.
Bumrah has only played two Tests against New Zealand so far and picked up six wickets. The Mumbai Indians pacer has best figures of 3/62 against New Zealand in Test cricket.
Bumrah's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
Kane Williamson - 2 dismissals (4 innings)
BJ Watling - 2 dismissals (4 innings)
Tom Blundell - 1 dismissal (4 innings)
Mohammed Shami
Shami's ability to swing the ball and attack relentlessly with testing lines has made him one of the leading pacers in the country. He can also reverse swing the old ball and use short-pitched deliveries to good effect when the conditions become inhospitable to bowlers. Both of these traits will be vital for India in the WTC final.
Over the past few years, he has formed fruitful partnerships with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant and Bumrah to give India some memorable wins on foreign soil. Shami has picked up 23 wickets against New Zealand in seven Tests. His best Test performance against Kane Williamson's side saw him register 4/70 in 2014.
Shami's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
BJ Watling - 4 dismissals (13 innings)
Tom Latham - 3 dismissals (11 innings)
Kane Williamson - 2 dismissals (11 innings)
Henry Nicholls - 1 dismissal (5 innings)
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin could be a significant threat for the Kiwi batters in the WTC final. He has an excellent head-to-head record against the three pillars of New Zealand's batting line-up: Williamson, Taylor and Tom Latham.
Virat Kohli will hope Ashwin can extend his excellent record against the three batsmen in the WTC final. Ashwin can also exploit the footmarks on the pitch created by left-arm pacers Trent Boult and Neil Wagner to test the right-handed batters.
The off-spinner has six five-wicket hauls against New Zealand in Test cricket. His best Test figures of 7/59 came against New Zealand in 2016 at Indore.
Ashwin's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
Kane Williamson - 5 dismissals (9 innings)
Ross Taylor - 5 dismissals (11 innings)
Tom Latham - 4 dismissals (7 innings)
Colin de Grandhomme - 1 dismissal (1 innings)
Henry Nicholls - 1 dismissal (3 innings)
BJ Watling - 1 dismissal (7 innings)
Ravindra Jadeja
Seasoned all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will most likely partner his former CSK teammate Ashwin in the spin department for India. The southpaw will have a crucial role to play in all three departments in the WTC final.
Southampton's pitch is likely to assist spinners on the 4th and 5th days of the Test if the weather remains sunny. Jadeja can exploit the pitch conditions to full effect and trouble right-handers like Williamson, Taylor, BJ Watling and Kyle Jamieson in the opposition ranks.
The Saurashtra spinner has picked up 19 wickets against New Zealand in six Test matches so far. His best bowling effort against the Black Caps came in 2016 when he recroded figures of 5/73.
Jadeja's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
Ross Taylor - 2 dismissals (10 innings)
Colin de Grandhomme - 1 dismissal (2 innings)
Henry Nicholls - 1 dismissal (4 innings)
BJ Watling - 1 dismissal (12 innings)
Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav is currently behind Mohammed Siraj in the pecking order. The Nagpur pacer will only play in the rare event that two of India's frontline pacers suffer injuries on or before Day 1 of the WTC final. Umesh has played five tests against New Zealand so far and managed to pick up nine wickets with best figures of 2/68.
Umesh Yadav's record against current Kiwi batters in Tests ahead of the WTC final is as follows -
Tom Latham - 2 dismissals (6 innings)
Tom Blundell - 1 dismissal (2 innings)
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