The first-ever WTC final is just less than a month away now, as India will take on New Zealand at Southampton, to be crowned the undisputed champions of Tests. This, in some ways, is the repeat of the 2019 World Cup semifinal clash between these two sides which the Kiwis won. Also, what needs to be kept in mind is New Zealand hammered India in a Test series at home, 0-2 last year.
Simply put, keeping the conditions in mind also, New Zealand will have an edge over the Indians. Even former England skipper Micheal Vaughan feels that New Zealand will pip India in the upcoming encounter.
“New Zealand (will win). English conditions, the Duke ball, and India on the back of a busy schedule… they’ll arrive pretty much a week before and go straight into it, [and] New Zealand have two test matches, you could argue warmups against England to get them prepared for the final,” Vaughan told Spark Sport.
“So it’s quite an obvious one for me, New Zealand will be better prepared and they’ll have more of a group of players who’ve played more cricket with the red ball, particularly the Duke ball here in the UK. New Zealand, all the way.”
Vaughan also feels that this Kiwi side is their best ever. “It’s not difficult, you haven’t had many great teams. You’ve had great players, you go back to the 80s, Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe were up there with the greatest to have ever played Test match cricket. As a team, Brendon McCullum’s team were exciting and vibrant but I never felt they were consistent because they let the opposition in by playing so aggressively,” Vaughan added.
“Under Kane Williamson you’ve started to play high class, disciplined Test match cricket over long periods, and real quality teams do it over day one to five. And it takes until the end of day five to wear a team down to get that win, this is what this New Zealand side can do.”
