Michael Vaughan Picks His Favorite Between India and New Zealand For The ICC World Test Championship Final

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has named his favorite for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand.

The final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship will take place between India and New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton between June 18-22.

And, according to Michael Vaughan, New Zealand will start as favorites to win the inaugural title.

Vaughan reckoned that the fact that New Zealand will be playing a two-match Test series against hosts England prior to the WTC final plays the fact that the game is taking place in swinging conditions of England against an Indian team which is coming on the back of a busy schedule makes the Kane Williamson-unit massive favorites.

“New Zealand (will win). English conditions, the Duke ball, and India on the back of a busy schedule… they’ll arrive pretty much a week before and go straight into it, [and] New Zealand have two test matches, you could argue warmups against England to get them prepared for the final,” Michael Vaughan told Spark Sport.

India, on the other hand, will only reach the United Kingdom on June 02, post which they will have to undergo ten-day isolation where they will be allowed to train.

But with the Kiwis battle-hardened thanks to the series against England leading into the final, Michael Vaughan believes that the No.2 ranked side in the world will go in the contest with a group of players who are better prepared.

“So it’s quite an obvious one for me, New Zealand will be better prepared and they’ll have more of a group of players who’ve played more cricket with the red ball, particularly the Duke ball here in the UK. New Zealand, all the way,” he added.

New Zealand has proved to be the bogey team for Team India not only in recent times but also in ICC events in recent years. India is yet to win an ICC event fixture against the Kiwis since the turn of the century and the Virat Kohli-led unit will be desperate to avenge the heartbreaking 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat that they suffered at the hands of Kane Williamson’s men, come June 18.

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