3 Indian Batsmen Who Can Become Highest Run Scorers In WTC Final

The squad of the Indian team has been announced on Tuesday for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the subsequent 5-match Test series with England. Virat Kohli’s and Kane Williamson’s side will meet on 18th June at The Rose Bowl in Southampton for the final of the inaugural WTC.

Apart from the dropping of Prithvi Shaw, who opened in Adelaide, there isn’t any major change from their last two series against England at home and Australia away as far as India’s batting is concerned.

Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari, both the players who missed the England series return to the set-up and are likely to slot in the eleven straightway. 5 out of the top 6 batters walk straight into the eleven, while the position of Shubman Gill depends on the bowling combination India picks as it would be difficult to drop either Jadeja or R Ashwin.

3 Indian Batsmen Who Can Become Highest Run Scorers In WTC Final:

Virat Kohli

The Indian captain amassed a massive total of 593 runs on the 2018 tour of England – the next best across both sides was Jos Buttler’s tally of 349 runs – banishing all the horrors of the 2014 tour. Virat Kohli smashed 2 hundred and 3 fifties on that tour. Against the Kiwis, he averages 51.53 in 9 with a best of 211.

The big stage of a WTC final would be a perfect occasion for Virat Kohli to end his century drought, which will have extended for over 18 months till June.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has been in the form of his life; with stellar performances in Australia and at home against England the left-hander is already a legend – to think, he is just 23 – and he could well be the reason India win the WTC as well, with his elite game-changing abilities with the bat.

Pant returned as India’s highest run-scorer from Australia helping the side achieve epic and unbelievable success Down Under. He continued batting in that vein against England, scoring 270 at an average of 54.00 and strike rate of 84.11.

The southpaw would also take confidence from his previous tour to England in 2018 when he made his Test debut. In the last Test at the Kennington Oval, Pant struck his maiden Test century – an innings of 114 runs off 146 in the fourth innings of the game.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara helped India register the historic Test series win in Australia in 2018/19. He ground the bowlers in the ground then and repeated in the last series as well.

While he averages an ordinary 29.41 in England, but on the 2018 tour he showed his high-class to shut the then detractors of his strike rate – he was dropped from the first Test surprisingly – by scoring a 72 in a match-winning cause and followed it up with 132/ while other around him crumbled.

India’s first line of defense in openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill is vulnerable considering it would be their first Test in England – Rohit has played only one game in England in which he batted in the middle-order – and the Kiwi pace bowling quartet knows how to make the most of the seaming and swinging conditions.

In that case, Cheteshwar Pujara, at number 3, would be the wall, India would hope holds the fort strongly, rendering the strike rate less concerning in a contest they wouldn’t want to lose.

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