Kevin Pietersen, Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja [Image-Getty]

The inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship final is set to take place in a few weeks’ time between India and New Zealand at the Rose Bowl, Southampton. It is scheduled to be held from the 18th of June until the 22nd of June and it is expected to be an exciting contest between the two deserving finalists.

India has to adapt quickly to the England conditions where the seamers will enjoy and both teams are equally balanced in terms of the bowling and batting departments. India has picked up a 20-member squad that will be on the flight to England and here are four reasons why India can win the ICC World Test Championship final.

Ajinkya Rahane And Virat Kohli’s Stats At Southampton:

Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Anjum Chopra, Ajinkya Rahane
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane [Image Credit: Getty]
Ajinkya Rahane has the best average among the Indian batsman at Southampton as he has scored 168 runs in the four innings he has played averaging 56. He has hit two fifties in the Southampton Test in the 2014 tour but could not help India to a win at the ground. Overall, he has three half-centuries at the ground.

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Virat Kohli on the other hand has the most runs for any Indian batsman among the current squad at the ground as he has scored 171 runs in the four innings at an average of 42. He has been getting starts at the ground in all four innings and he will be confident playing in the same ground.

Batting Depth:

Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja. (Credits: Twitter)

India look to have picked up a stronger squad without any injuries and all the star players are back in the team. With Rishabh Pant’s improvement in the wicket-keeping areas, India can afford to play an extra all-rounder apart from the four bowlers. At the moment, Ravindra Jadeja fits into the role very well and he has been outstanding in the last few tests.

India can play either Hanuma Vihari or Ravindra Jadeja in the middle order, which means the batting order deepens until seven. R Ashwin is coming off an excellent series with the bat against Australia and England, and he is more than a capable batsman at eight. Ishant, Shami, and Bumrah can certainly add up few runs at the back end of the innings.

Spearhead Pace Attack:

Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah (Photo-Getty)

The pace attack of the Indian team looks stronger than ever with the regular trio of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah back in the squads. They have been really well together as a group picking up regular wickets and have destroyed the batting lineup of teams around the world.

Apart from the trio, the bowlers on the bench are really capable of producing the same effect. Umesh Yadav has the best average among the fast bowlers that played tests in the last two years for India while Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur were impressive in their outings against Australia. It is a very potent attack and any quick can play on the day.

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Recent Wins Over Australia And England:

India
Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Image-Twitter.

India registered history in the test series against Australia as they won their second consecutive series in Australia without their senior players in charge. The youngsters stepped up for the country after losing the first test and Ajinkya Rahane turned out to be a great captain in absence of Virat Kohli. India went on to stage a comeback from 0-1 trailing to a 2-1 series win over the might Australia.

The England series turned out to be the decisive factor that took India to the finals against New Zealand. England was coming off a series win in Sri Lanka and was confident after winning the first test. But, India managed to make a comeback again and win the series 3-1 comfortably.