Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey
WTC Finals: 3 unlikely players who can impact the game | Looking at three unlikely players who could significantly impact the WTC Final
India and New Zealand are set to face each other for the showpiece encounter of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) at Southampton from 18th June onward. Both teams have endured their own set of challenges before making their way to the final stages of this prestigious tournament.
The match is bound to attract some terrific traction owing to the quality of players set to take part in it – from the likes of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Ross Taylor, Ajinkya Rahane to several othes. There must be many dibs as to who could turn out to be decisive performer for either of the teams in the encounter.
However, here we attempt to look at players who might miss people’s attention when they look forward to this big game. Yet, these individuals can prospectively turn the tides of the forthcoming finale, quite unexpectedly. Without further ado, let us elaborate on them.
Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma’s struggles against the moving ball are well documented over the years. The Kiwi pacers are expected to be on the money right from the word go, especially considering that they will be playing in conditions slightly familiar to the one that they are accustomed to back home.
In that case, India will need Shubman Gill to provide a solid start right at the top, in order to prevent the Indian batting order from faltering apart early on in the innings. Gill had a splendid series vs Australia, where his contributions were probably overshadowed by the extraordinary brilliance of Rishabh Pant.
Then, he had a very underwhelming run against England at home. However, with the class that he possesses, Gill has shown Down Under that he can very well upstage his game according to the magnitude of the situation. Whilst the Kiwis focus on the likes of Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill could well sneak in to make an impactful contribution in the game.
BJ Watling
BJ Watling has carved an incredible name for himself in recent years with his study, consistent performances down the order for New Zealand. His is a name that often tends to go under the radar when one looks at the incredibly talented Kiwi batting order.
However, Watling has over the years shown some tremendous character to bail his team out of tricky situations. Moreover, he has developed an innate ability to guide the innings with tail-enders, something that could come to haunt the Indian bowling unit. Indian bowlers have often fallen short in quickly wrapping up the lower order of the opposition, thus enabling them to run away with the innings.
The Virat Kohli-led side has improved leaps and bounds on this factor in recent times. Yet, they must ensure that they are as ruthless and efficient with the tail as they are with the Kiwi top order; else, Watling can slyly take a very critical game out of India’s hands.
Ishant Sharma
Experience comes in extremely handy in high-pressure matches like this one. With 101 Test matches under his belt, Ishant Sharma will be raring to perform well in probably the most important game of his career in whites so far.
Jasprit Bumrah’s sheer excellence coupled with Mohammed Shami’s terrific seam bowling and wicket-taking ability tend to eclipse the key role that Ishant carries out in the bowling unit. His ability to bowl long spells, maintain consistent line and lengths and strike absolutely critical wickets at crucial moments are largely underrated in world cricket.
Moreover, he has the ability to tweak his strategies according to the demands of the situation too, something that only seasoned players manage to execute perfectly in challenging circumstances.
The conditions at offer in Southampton will demand a tenacious, consistent approach from the bowlers. Ishant has honed those skills in abundance in the recent years and could perhaps have the key to India’s prospective success in the WTC Finals.
Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.
