Published: May 24, 2021, 07:53 PM (IST)
Edited: May 24, 2021, 07:53 PM (IST)
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels New Zealand will start as favourites in the ICC World Test Championship final against India. Chopra feels New Zealand will hold the advantage against India as they will play two Test matches against England before the World Test Championship final clash.
The renowned commentator feels the Kiwis will have a 55% chance of winning as compared to India’s 45% chance. Meanwhile, New Zealand had won both the Test matches against India in February 2020 when the Virat Kohli-led team had toured the Trans-Tasmanian nation.
The ball is expected to swing in the English conditions and New Zealand will have their wood on India as the Indian players are vulnerable against the moving ball. However, India was the best team of the World Test Championship cycle as they won 12 matches out of the 17 they played. The Virat Kohli-led thus finished at the numero uno position with a winning percentage of 72.2 in the WTC points table.
“Don’t rule India out but it is 55-45 in favour of New Zealand. Although they are No.2 in the Test rankings and play well at home when we talk about Southampton, they can play slightly better than us in these conditions in the first half of the English summer,” Chopra said on his Facebook page.
“They [New Zealand] would have already played two Tests there. So, there is a slight difference. The heart is Indian and will say that we will defeat them but we are not able to go to New Zealand and defeat them,” Chopra added.
“It’s a fact, we didn’t defeat them now as well. The team which won in Australia had lost in New Zealand while it was almost a full-strength side in New Zealand. There could be problems in Southampton as well,” Chopra signed off.
There is no doubt that New Zealand players will be able to get acclimatise to the conditions as they will two Test matches against England. On the other hand, the Indian team is expected to reach England on June 2 and then they will begin their preparation for the World Test Championship final.
