India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar talked about the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand and gave his thoughts on both teams.
New Zealand will be playing two Tests against England prior to the WTC final which will begin on June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, England. As the matter of fact, Kiwis are currently practicing on the same ground to prepare for the first Test against England at Lord’s starting June 2.
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Many feel this will be beneficial for New Zealand as they will have more practice than India for the WTC final, however, Sunil Gavaskar feels that the same two Tests against England can backfire on New Zealand as well if they get beaten in both matches.
"The pessimists are suggesting that playing two Tests before the WTC finals will be a huge plus for the Kiwis as they will be match ready and better acclimatized to the conditions. The flip side of playing those two Tests is that New Zealand could get beaten and thus be low on morale when they take on India and there could be some injuries and niggles to some of their key players which can happen in early June in England," Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Telegraph.
On the other hand, Gavaskar felt that the Indian team will be fresher and raring to go against New Zealand, giving them the energy to push for a win and become the first-ever World Test Champions.
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"The other factor that will work in the Indian team's favor is that they will be fresh and raring to go and that sheer energy and enthusiasm to be able to play the sport they love after a month's gap will more than make up for any lack of match practice.
This is a team that has tasted success and that too in adverse circumstances, so any adversity will be looked upon as an opportunity to show they have the gumption to rise above it and conquer it," Gavaskar added.
After the WTC final, India will engage with England in a five-Test series from August and though Gavaskar didn't predict the scoreline of the series, he feels that it will be an Indian summer in England.
"The summer in England promises to be the golden summer of Indian cricket. After the WTC finals, there is a gap of about six weeks before the Test series starts against England and that should be enough for the team to play some practice games and tune-up for what England can hurl at them. It is foolish to try and predict the score but it looks like it will be an Indian summer in England,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.
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He further said that after moaning about turning pitches in India on their recent tour, he will not be surprised if England prepares green seaming tracks for the Indian team.
"Having moaned about the pitches in India earlier this year, it won't be a surprise if the groundsmen in England leave a little grass on the surface. That is no longer a worry as India have an attack that will also thrive on it and cause problems for the England batsmen too," Gavaskar signed off.
(The Telegraph inputs)
