As India and New Zealand gear up for the World Test Championship(WTC) final, let’s have a look at the player battles to watch out for.
Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson
Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson had first met as captains when they led India and New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2008 U-19 World Cup. The Indian captain picked up the wicket of Kane in this encounter and also won the semifinal. But now things have completely changed. Apart from being the captains of their respective national sides, Kohli and Williamson are arguably two of the best batsmen in the world currently.
Virat has scored 7,490 runs from 91 Tests at an impressive average of 52.37 with 27 tons, joint-most in the format among active cricketers, with Steve Smith. He also has 7 double hundreds by his name. On the other hand, Williamson isn’t too far behind Kohli in terms of Test runs. He has scored 7,129 runs from 84 Tests at a sublime average of 53.60 with 24 tons and four double-centuries. He is the third-highest run-getter in tests for New Zealand.
As captains, both are World-class batsmen, hopefully, we’ll get to see more positive cricket and we can expect both to push for victory rather than play for a draw.
Rohit Sharma vs Trent Boult
One of the best batsmen of the current generation. Averaging 64.37 since moving to the top of the order, Rohit has been comfortably the best opener in the WTC. But playing in England with the new ball against the likes of one of the best swing bowlers Southee and Boult will be a completely different challenge for Rohit.
Rohit Sharma has improved exponentially in Test matches. But he still has struggled against swing bowling in the past. Boult will try to bring the ball into him and get him out LBW. It’s a tough challenge for Rohit at the start of innings and if he succeeds in it, India will have a big advantage in the WTC finals. (www.leankitchenco.com) Boult has dismissed Rohit once in Test cricket.
Shane Bond in an interview with Star Sports said, “What I do know is that even during the IPL, Trent Boult was running in and swinging the ball and hitting him on the pad and telling him ‘that’s going to happen in the WTC final. They were already talking about it months in advance which was just brilliant. They were very aware, those two, that they were going to come up against each other.”
Tom Latham vs Jasprit Bumrah
The last test series played between the two sides, Bumrah was unable to dismiss the black caps openers across the two tests. So, Bumrah would like this as a challenge and will look to give India an early breakthrough in the WTC finals. Tom Latham is considered as one of the best openers since the last 3-4 years. He has played incredibly well in almost all parts of the world and is currently 12 runs shy of 4000 runs at the top of the order for his country, at an average of 42.42.
So far, Bumrah has taken 14 wickets at 25.92 in Test matches held in England and will be a big threat for the opposition in the WTC finals. As Broad tried to bring the ball back into Latham from round the wicket and get him trapped LBW in the recent series against New Zealand, Bumrah will look for the same to dismiss Latham.
Ross Taylor vs Ishant Sharma
The two veteran players who have over 100 test experience will go toe-to-toe in Southampton, with 37-year-old Ross Taylor and 32-year-old Ishant Sharma keen to draw on all their experience in the WTC Final. Ishant has played a huge role in India’s consistent pace battery across the WTC, claiming 36 wickets across 11 matches only Ravichandran Ashwin has claimed more WTC wickets so far for India.
In the previous meetings, Ishant has dismissed Ross Taylor four times in 6 tests. So, he surely has the upper hand over Taylor and will look to continue the same in the WTC finals. Also, Ishant had a lot of experience playing in England and has some great memories when India last played a test series vs England in 2018. He took18 wickets at an average of 24.27. Ross Taylor has scored 650 Test runs at 40.62 to his name in England, with his only century in England which came 13 years ago.
Rishabh Pant vs BJ Watling
Swashbuckling left-handed batsmen versus a steady, calm and composed BJ Watling is a battle to watch out for in WTC Finals. Watling has 43 dismissals by his name in the WTC cycle, whereas is not far behind, who has 40 dismissals.
With the bat, Pant is in great form during the World Test Championship, smashing 662 runs at an average of 41.37, with his strike rate of 69.17 the highest among all players with at least 400 runs in the competition. He is in the form of his life since the start of 2021, scoring a series winning 89 vs Australia at Gabba and then a 101 in Ahmedabad vs ENgland on a challenging surface to take India into the finals of WTC. On the other handWatling has scored 300 runs at an average of 50 across eight Test innings in the cycle.
Watling will look to play a match-winning knock for his side and end his career on a high note by winning the WTC.