3 similarities between Australia and New Zealand's WTC wins
Australia emerged as the new WTC winners last Sunday by defeating India in the final at The Oval. The Aussies qualified for the final after finishing first in the World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle's standings. They took on the second-placed Indian team in the summit clash.
Although India had dominated Australia in bilateral series at home and away from home in the last four years, the Aussies won the match that mattered the most. Travis Head played a superb knock of 163 runs in the first innings to give Australia the upper hand. India tried to fight back but eventually ended up suffering an embarrassing defeat.
It was India's second consecutive loss in the WTC final. Two years ago, India topped the World Test Championship 2019-21 cycle's points table and took on second-placed New Zealand in the final. The Kiwis beat the Indian side to become the inaugural WTC winners.
Winning against India in the final is one of the biggest similarities between Australia and New Zealand's championship wins, but here's a list of three other coincidences which fans may not have noticed.
#1 Australia and New Zealand did not lose a single home match in WTC cycle
Every team gets an opportunity to play three home series and three away series in a World Test Championship cycle. Generally, winning Tests on home soil is easier because the team can ask for a certain type of pitch for a particular opponent.
Australia and New Zealand utilized the home advantage to perfection. The Blackcaps defeated India, Pakistan and West Indies by 2-0 in their two-match series played in 2020. Meanwhile, Australia blanked England 4-0, South Africa 2-0 and West Indies 2-0 in their home matches from 2021 to 2023.
This similarity highlights the significance of the home matches in any World Test Championship cycle.
#2 Australia and New Zealand lost 3 matches away from home
Interestingly, both Australia and New Zealand suffered three losses each in their respective WTC cycles and all three losses came away from home. While the Blackcaps were whitewashed by Australia 0-3 in an away series played in 2019/20, Australia lost three matches against two different opponents.
The Aussies suffered their first defeat of the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle against Sri Lanka in 2022. Next, they lost the first two matches of the four-Test series against India in 2023. The Aussies made a comeback in the series against India to avoid a 0-4 whitewash.
#3 India's batting order collapsed on the final day of matches against Australia and New Zealand
India were in a decent position before the final day of both the summit clashes. They were 64/2 in the second innings when the final day of the match against New Zealand got underway in WTC final 2021. The Kiwis then took eight wickets for 106 runs and chased down a 139-run target to win by eight wickets.
From BGT Dominance to WTC Final Setback 💔
#WTCFinal2023 #AUSvsIND #Cricket #India https://t.co/upSpYrksAH
In the match against Australia, India needed 280 runs on the final day with seven wickets in hand. India suffered another collapse, losing seven wickets for just 55 runs as Australia secured the WTC trophy with a big win.