Match: India v New Zealand
Date: 18th June 2021
Time: 3 PM India
Stadium: Rose Bowl Cricket Ground, England
Trends & Recent Form
India and New Zealand meet for the World Test Championship Final at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, UK. There is a $1.6 million prize pot for whichever team wins the match!
The match is likely to be influenced by the famous British weather with the 10-day forecast showing over a 50% chance of showers on every day the match is on. Hopefully, there will not be much rain so they can get a decent game of cricket played!
The Rose Bowl has an average score er wicket of just over 33 runs at test level so it should make for a good match to watch if it goes that way. The last 2 test matches on the ground, England v Pakistan in 2020, both ended in a draw.
India Test form
Position: 2nd in the men’s world rankings
Top players
- Top Batsman: Virat Kohli – 4th
- Top Bowler: Ravichandran Ashwin – 2nd
Latest stats and trends
- India is in good form in international after beating England in the T20 series (3-2), ODI series (2-1) and test series (3-1) earlier this year. New Zealand, as the worlds best test side, will pose a bigger challenge.
- In the test series against England, it was the Indian bowlers that made the biggest impression limiting England to a best of 205 in the last 3 tests.
- India prepared for this match with a squad game rather than playing another nation. Gill and PAnt were both on good form in this although we don’t consider the match to have been a serious test of the players.
- If the wicket stays dry and spins India will have a strong advantage with Ashwin and Jadeja in the squad. With the current weather forecast, we’d expect Bumrah and Sharma to be key to the attack later in the match.
New Zealand Test form
Position: 1st in the men’s world rankings
Top players
- Top Batsman: Kane Williamson – 2nd
- Top Bowler: Tim Southee – 3rd
Latest stats and trends
- New Zealand made the final on slim margins after finishing on the same record as Australia. (Won 8 lost 4).
- New Zealand prepared for this match by winning a 2 match series against England on English wickets. They rotated the players for both matches and they looked in excellent form.
- New Zealand has 4 blowers in the world top 20 (test rankings) and they are all seamer. With expected damp conditions this could be crucial in the match.
- New Zealand is the strong favourites to win this match after their excellent performances recently.
Head to head stats
The two teams last met in February 2020 for a 2 match series. New Zealand won the test series 2-0 and the ODI series 3-0. India won the T20 series 5-0, a series that contained back to back super overs – something that we will remember for a long time!
Here are the test results –
- Feb 20th -24th
- New Zealand won by 10 wickets
- Feb 28th – 2nd March
- New Zealand won by 7 wickets
In these matches, New Zealand was particularly impressive. In the first match, they needed 9 runs to win in the 2nd innings. In the second match, they won comfortably needing 130 to win in the second innings. India batted first in both matches.
Match Prediction & Tips
Match Prediction: India to win
This will be a very close match but we are opting for India as the winners. India has a strength in depth and has brought all the top players over for this match. The top 6 in the batting order are all world-class players and they will have a big impact on the match, nullifying New Zealand’s bowling.
As well as that the Indian seamers should have a strong match with the conditions well suited to them. If I was Virat Kohli and won the toss I would be electing to bat first to make the most of the dry wicket before it changes.
Match questions?
Who will win the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand?
The Cricketics team thinks India will win the match, but it will be very close. The draw is a strong possibility if the weather plays a part in the result.
When is the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand?
The match starts at 3 PM (India) on the 18th of June 2021.
Like this preview? why not share it?
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on reddit
Reddit
Here are some other previews you may like