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WTC Final: 5 key factors that can determine the outcome of the game | Who will achieve a positive WTC Final result? 5 key factors that will determine result
Outcomes of major events such as the finale of the World Test Championship (WTC) are drawn from factors more than one. A variety of reasons come together to hand over the trophy to the deserving victor, and it is not as black and white as generalists would like to conform it to.
Several intricate elements are set to combine and thereby determine the eventual champion of the first edition of the WTC. Both these sides lack neither talent nor do they require any recognition as such. But here, we attempt to elaborate on certain very key factors that will have a huge role to play behind the final result of much-anticipated contest.
Contribution of Indian openers
Any successful Test team massively relies on the solid foundation provided by their opening pair. Moreover, conditions in England demand the openers to display some solid character, which can shield the coming batsmen from the initial bout of the wrath of the moving ball. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will have quite a challenge in front of them considering that the Kiwi pacers will be well-versed with the conditions on offer.
Rohit doesn’t boast of the best of records in seaming conditions but his overall game has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. He has honed the tendency to dig it out initially and capitalize on the same to notch a big total afterward. Shubman, with all his class and quality, isn’t riding on the best of forms as of now. Yet, both of them are perfectly capable of carrying out the said task and the Indians will be banking on them to do it well.
Also read: Is the opening combination a concern for India in the WTC Final?
How do the big guns perform?
This is the showpiece event of the inaugural WTC, and is bound to host some remarkably prodigious players. Commeth the hour, commeth the man is saying that goes along in cricket as well as anywhere else. The likes of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult will be attracting all the gazes though the inputs and performances of the other players will be just as equal.
Yet, teams rely on the best of players to bail them out of adverse situations and hence the input of the aforementioned individuals becomes all the way more important for the coming game.
They have the ability to completely dictate the terms of the game, and win it on their own, as clichéd as it may sound. Will the big guns step up? They absolutely have to as the whole cricketing world will have their eyes set on this particular encounter. The stakes don’t get bigger than this, especially in the whites.
The wicketkeepers’ battle
Both Rishabh Pant and BJ Watling’s prominence in their respective Test teams has grown significantly in the last few years. Moreover, the two individuals possess such contrasting playing styles and still continue to hold the key for their team’s success in this championship.
Pant, renowned for his swashbuckling style of play, has holistically improved in the last year to become an irreplaceable asset to the Indian team. On the other hand, Watling’s innate ability to save his side from precarious situations and do it ever so consistently deserves as much praise as well. Down the order, these two men will be in-charge of holding the lower-middle order together.
Their wicket-keeping skills are surely going to be put to Test especially if there is some assistance to the pacers. Pant and Watling have been critical to their respective team’s journey to the WTC finale and they will be absolutely instrumental in Southampton too.
Will New Zealand edge ahead with prior match practice?
The Kiwis played a couple of Test matches vs England ahead of the WTC finale. How much will adequate match practice with top-quality opposition right before the start of the WTC final benefit them in the all-critical encounter?
New Zealand achieved an excellent 1-0 series win – their first in England since 1999. They had the better of both Tests, with the second match in particular a great show of New Zealand’s depth. To achieve a positive WTC Final result, New Zealand will be hoping they can build on their two Test matches vs England.
Who manages to hold onto their nerves till the end?
At the end, at this stage, the ability to hold your nerves in the most delicate of circumstances determines your luck more than anything else. See, these two sides have made it to the final of the WTC because they boast of some seriously incredible quality in their ranks. Yet, the side that will be lifting the trophy will have much more than sheer talent in its roster.
That particular team will boast of a fighting spirit bar none, a tenacious attitude to work around alien conditions, the smartness to capitalize on the shortest of openings and finally the composure to keep its head in the right place as the game enters its decisive stages.
Both India and the Kiwis haven’t done particularly well in knockout events in recent times. But, the Indian team showed some unparalleled character in the tour to Australia late last year. If they hold on to that kind of spirit, we all are in for one memorable ride from June 18th onward!
Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.
