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5 areas of concern for India ahead of the WTC Final | We look at 5 key areas of concern for Team India in the WTC Final against New Zealand

After two years of rigorous contests between 9 teams on the cricket field, we have finally found the top two sides in India and New Zealand, who will lock horns with each other in the much awaited final of the first ever World Test Championship (WTC). This historic face off is going to take place at Southampton and promises to be a belter of a contest.

While New Zealand are boosted with confidence after their recent series victory against England, India are going to play their first Test on the English soil after almost 3 years and hence are expected to face certain challenges against the Kiwis in the Final. In this article, I am going to mention five such areas of concern for the Indian team ahead of the WTC final. Here we go.

Inexperience of Openers in English conditions

Opening the batting in England is a big task as you have to be technically solid and your feet movements have to be decisive against the ever-moving Dukes ball. There are some things a batsman needs to adopt in order to be successful in tackling the new ball in England, which he gets with the experience of playing in English conditions.

But, if I talk about the Indian openers, Rohit Sharma has played just a single Test in England back in 2014, whereas Shubman Gill is yet to play an international match in England. Facing bowlers like Southee, Boult and Jamieson with little experience of the English conditions is definitely not going to be an easy task for the Indian openers.

Form of Virat Kohli in WTC cycle

Virat Kohli has dominated world cricket for more than a decade, but he wasn’t at his absolute best in the WTC. Although he has scored 877 runs at a decent average of 43.85, his average since the New Zealand tour is a mere 24. He had a horrible outing in New Zealand and although he hit 3 half centuries in his next 8 Test innings, his inconsistency with the bat was evident. He is the most important batsman for India in England as he scored almost 25 percent of India’s runs in their tour back in 2018. So, if he continues his abysmal run with the bat, it will definitely create some huge concerns for team India in the final of this mega event.

Psychological pressure of playing against the Kiwis

India’s record against New Zealand hasn’t been encouraging in the recent past. They lost the 2019 World Cup semi final against New Zealand and were later beaten badly in the ODIs and Tests in New Zealand in 2020. Talking about the ICC events, India have never won a single match against the Kiwis since their meeting in the 2003 World Cup Super Sixes. So, definitely there will be some psychological pressure of facing New Zealand in an all important final as the demons of the New Zealand tour would be playing in the minds of the Indian players.

Selection dilemma

Although the top 6 of the Indian batting order is almost sorted, there is some confusion regarding the bowling line up. Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been integral parts of the Indian team throughout the WTC cycle. Jadeja has developed his batting to the core and has scored some priceless runs for the team in crunch situations. Further, he is always valuable with the ball and is probably the most important member of the fielding unit. So, his place is almost certain in the XI.

But, looking at the weather forecast of Southampton which predicts rain, India might get tempted to go with four seamers potentially leaving R Ashwin out. But, it won’t be an easy call as it seems, because Ashwin also has been a phenomenal match winner for India over the years and is their most successful bowler in the WTC cycle.

Secondly, Mohammed Siraj has the variations that might prove to be instrumental in English conditions. He swings the ball, can bowl with a wobbled seam, has a good nip backer as well as a mean bouncer. So, India might get tempted to include him in the XI, but the question is whom they would drop in that case. These are the certain questions before the Indian management heading to the final.

India’s recent record in England

Last time India won a Test series in England was back in 2007. After that, they have lost 11 Tests and won just 2 on English soil. These facts indicate that the Indian team doesn’t really enjoy playing in England. Also, India have lost both their Tests in Southampton, where the final is scheduled to be played. So, this is definitely an added disadvantage on their side.

There is no doubt regarding India’s prowess as a brilliant Test side, but these are certain concerns they need to address before the final against a strong New Zealand side.

Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.