Ravichandran Ashwin On World Test Championship Final: Best Of Three Finals Would Have Been Nicer But Team Will Give Its Best Shot

Champion Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that it would have been nicer to have a best of three final for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) but assured that the team will give its best shot in the summit clash.

Team India stormed into the finals of the ICC World Test Championship following their epic 3-1 annihilation of England on home soil.

With 520 points out of 720 and a cumulative percentage of 72.2, Team India finished at the numero-uno spot in the points table and they will now lock horns with Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the marquee clash in England between June 18-22.

Ravichandran Ashwin added that for Test cricketers like him, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, who did not play in the 2019 World Cup, the World Test Championship final is like a World Cup and he is very happy for each and every member of the team that India made it to the summit clash.

“For people like me, Pujara, Rahane, and Ishant, who did not play the 2019 World Cup, this is literally the World Cup. I also saw Ishant speaking about it. I am happy for every member for making it to the finals. I am sure we can get a positive result if we adapt quickly because we just have one match as the final. It would have been nicer if we had three, but we just have one, we have to live with that and we will try to give our best shot,” said Ravichandran Ashwin in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

Talking about qualifying for the World Test Championship final, Cheteshwar Pujara said-

“Feeling great to be a part of this team. Really happy, the kind of effort we have put in 2-2.5 years for this championship, it is a tremendous achievement that we have made it to the final. Actually, I am looked forward to the final.”

“Boys have worked really hard, it has been more than two years that all this began. We are hopeful that we will do well in the WTC final, it is an amazing feeling for all of us to qualify for the WTC final,” added Pujara.

India were easily the best team in the two-year Test Championship cycle. The Viraf Kohli-led unit lost just one series out of six- 0-2 vs New Zealand in 2020- and while they thumped the likes of South Africa (3-0), Bangladesh (2-0) and England (3-1) on home soil, they also registered a historic Test series win in Australia by 2-1 besides blanking West Indies in the Caribbean by 2-0.

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