We are just a day away from of the most high-profile matches in the world of Test cricket. It is the all-awaited World Test Championship Final. The venue for this match is The Ageas Bowl in Southampton where India will lock horns with New Zealand. A total of 6 Test matches have been played at this venue.
India have played two games and lost all their Test matches at The Ageas Bowl. This certainly is an interesting statistic and India will look to break their Southampton jinx.
Brief scores of all six Test matches
1st innings : 184, 569/7 (dec.), 246, 204, 236 & 583/8 (dec.)
2nd innings : 377/8 (decl.), 330, 273, 318, 110/4 (decl.) & 273
3rd innings: 334/5, 205/4 (dec.), 271, 313, DNB & 187/4
4th innings : DNB, 178, 184, 200/6, DNB & DNB.
Three out of the six matches played here have ended in a draw. This clearly indicates that rain has played a spoilsport in those matches. Southampton is expected to have light showers during the match which might force the use of the reserve day. We hope that the rain gods are kind enough and we are able to see a smooth final without any interruption.
Toss
Teams winning the toss opting to bat: 5
Teams winning the toss opting to bowl: 1
Also Read: WTC Final: 3 Battles To Watch Out For In The Summit Clash
India lost on both occasions when the opposition team was batting first.
First Innings Scores
The average first-innings scores have been fluctuating. Teams winning the toss are preferring to bat first. The key is to post a big first-innings total. Posting a good first innings total has completely outplayed the opposition on numerous occasions unless it rains.
Wickets Day-wise
Day 1 – Wickets/Day: 4.33 (429.3 overs bowled overall)
Day 2 – Wickets/Day: 7 (381 overs bowled overall)
Day 3 – Wickets/Day: 6.8 (401.3 overs bowled)
Day 4 – Wickets/Day: 6.166 (374.1 overs bowled)
Day 5 – Wickets/Day: 4.2 (216.4 overs bowled)
Wickets were taken by spinners- 41 (23 innings)
Wickets were taken by pacers- 120 (28 innings)
Innings wise wickets
1st inns: Pace – 43 wickets (486.5 overs); Spin – 11 wickets (131.2 overs)
2nd inns: Pace – 40 wickets (423.4 overs); Spin – 11 wickets (98.1 overs)
3rd inns: Pace – 23 wickets (293.3 overs); Spin – 8 wickets (141.5 overs)
4th inns: Pace – 14 wickets (135 overs); Spin – 11 wickets (66.4 overs)
The 2nd and 3rd innings have been completely dominated by the pacers while the spinners are more effective in the 4th innings. If the match goes down to the last innings then Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will have a big part to play.
Pitch Report
The curator has revealed that the pitch will have pace and bounce on the first three days of the match. With the weather forecast offering a faint chance of rain during the ICC WTC Final, the conditions will suit seamers. In the last two days, we might see some assistance for the spinners.