Sanjay Manjrekar in his recent column for Hindustan Times has said that New Zealand hold the edge over India in the World Test Championship final to be played in June. India were the second team to book a spot in the final after New Zealand got their first. Meanwhile, as per the latest ICC rankings, India have reclaimed the top spot in Test rankings while Kiwis are placed second.
The two teams will face each other in the WTC final at the Rose Bowl from June 18 and Manjrekar reckons that the New Zealand cricketers will be more suited to the weather and seaming pitches in England than the Indians.
NZ Have Slight Edge In WTC Final: Sanjay Manjrekar
“To summarise based on just weather and pitch conditions, NZ may have a slight edge at Southampton; they are just a little more at home than India and have players, especially bowlers, naturally suited to exploit such conditions. Indian bowling is efficient, but in NZ they paid a heavy price for hitting the deck too much and not bowling the ball full and getting it to swing like the Kiwi bowlers did,” Manjrekar wrote on his column for the Hindustan Times.
Sanjay Manjrekar further said that had the World Test Championship final been played in India, New Zealand would have had no chance against a strong Indian team at home. But with England hosting the final, New Zealand stands in a better position to win the final given the friendly conditions.
“If the World Test Championship final is held in India, New Zealand would be sent packing by the hosts inside three days, but that it’s going to be played in England, and that too in the first half of the English summer, makes NZ a much bigger hurdle for India to cross to win the WTC,” Manjrekar wrote.
Manjrekar concluded by saying that the Indian batsmen will have to have a good technique against the seaming and swinging conditions if they are to win the final.
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