‘They can cover all bases’ – New Zealand all rounder Colin de Grandhomme highlights ‘toughest thing’ for India ahead of WTC Final
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India and New Zealand did battles in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester. The sides will now face off in another knockout game of the ICC and this time its the World Test Championship (WTC) final. In February, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the WTC final as the Test series between South Africa and Australia was postponed.
On the other hand, India had to take the tougher route to book a seat in the final. After a grueling Test series in Australia, Virat Kohli and Co. stopped the English juggernaut in the subcontinent to finally qualify for the final of the inaugural edition of the Test Championship. The sides are set to face off in the final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18 to 22.
Indian skipper Kohli had hailed the WTC final as a distraction for his side. “Now we can accept and admit that we are in the WTC final; it was a distraction for us. It did become a bit of distraction for us in New Zealand, but we took it one game at a time since,” Kohli had said after winning the fourth England Test in March.
Colin de Grandhomme highlights ‘toughest thing’ for India ahead of WTC Final
While the final is atleast a month away, Kiwi all rounder Colin de Grandhomme has come up with an interesting analogy. De Grandhomme feels that India’s abundance of talent will be their biggest headache going into the big game. He explains that it will be the “toughest” for India to get their balance right against the Kiwis.
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“With the amount of players they’ve got they can cover all bases because they’ve got real good seam bowlers these days and gun spinner, so I think the toughest thing for them is going to be picking the XI,” the ICC tweeted quoting the all-rounder.
The final gets underway on June 18 and will continue till June 22 with June 23 kept as a reserve day. While it was initially set to be played at the Lord’s, the ICC decided to move it to Southampton with an eye on the COVID-19 situation across the globe. In the last encounter between the stalwarts, New Zealand thumped India 2-0 at their home. While it gives the Kiwis the psychological advantage, India will be keen on getting one back on the World’s top Test side.
Also Read: “Confident of holding it” – BCCI official says ICC T20 World Cup might not be moved out of India
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Anshuman Mahapatra
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