ICC World Test Championship Final: 5 Player Battles To Watch Out For

India and New Zealand were the two best teams in the ICC World Test Championship and they deserved to be in the finals of the inaugural edition which starts on the 18th of June. Both the teams are equally strong and it is tough to pick one team as the favourite going into the test.

New Zealand is coming off a win against England in the two-match test series which took place last week while India played an intrasquad practice match to get used to the conditions and the duke ball. With a lot of match-winners on both sides, it is time to look at 5 player battles to watch out for in the ICC World Test Championship finals.

ICC World Test Championship Finals: 5 PLayer Battles To Watch Out For:

5. Kyle Jamieson and Rishabh Pant:

This is going to be an interesting battle between two youngsters who have settled into the team really well after some excellent performances in the last year. The tall fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been picking up wickets at an average of 13.27 in the World Test Championship so far and he will be a big threat to the Indian team.

Rishabh Pant has been in terrific form for India in tests and his aggressive style of play could be the need of the hour for the team against this tough bowling attack of New Zealand. Pant will have to play out those bouncers from Jamieson and it is not going to be easy for Pant to take on Jamieson. It will be an interesting battle to watch out for.

4. Jasprit Bumrah and Kane Williamson:

Jasprit Bumrah is always going to be a threat to any batsman in the world and he will look up to the challenge against one of the best batsmen in the world, Kane Williamson. The New Zealand skipper has been slightly vulnerable in overseas conditions and Bumrah will look to exploit those.

Bumrah has been hitting the deck at a really good pace and he has been having a considerable seam movement off the pitch. Williamson will be the most important batsman for New Zealand as he can play those long innings if he gets into his groove and Bumrah will be aware of the Kiwi’s strengths too.

3. R Ashwin and Tom Latham:

Ravichandra Ashwin will come into play when the pitch starts to dry up a little bit and he is usually outstanding against the left-handers. Ashwin being the highest wicket-taker for India in the ICC World Test Championship will need to be precise with his line and lengths even if he isn’t getting those wickets.

On the other hand, the New Zealand opener Tom Latham has been in really good touch and he has given a lot of good starts to the team to capitalize on. He is an excellent player of spin and he would have realized the threat that R Ashwin can pose on with the ball turning away from his bat. It will be an exciting battle between these players.

2. Trent Boult and Rohit Sharma:

Trent Boult generally takes the new ball for the New Zealand side and he is unplayable when he starts finding his rhythm. His normal bowling style is to bring the ball into the right-hander like an inswinger and he has those stop deliveries which leave the right-hander.

Rohit Sharma has had problems over the years against Trent Boult with the ball shaping into his leg pads and he has been adjudged LBW a few times. He will know that Boult will be lining up him and he should look to play those in-swinging deliveries as late as possible in the ICC World Test Championship finals.

1.Tim Southee and Virat Kohli:

Tim Southee is ranked third in the ICC test bowler rankings and he has been picking up a lot of wickets for the New Zealand side on their way to the finals. He has troubled a lot of batsmen with his outswingers and he hits the good lengths most of the time to keep the batsman from settling in.

Virat Kohli will remember that he was dismissed twice in the series to Tim Southee when New Zealand won the two-match test series against India. Kohli has been critical with his cover drives and though being successful most of the time, he will also have the century drought for the last one and a half years on his mind. This will be the most interesting battle in the ICC World Test Championship final.