WTC final: Henry Nicholls weighs in on India's bowling attack ahead of summit clash
New Zealand batsman Henry Nicholls is more wary of Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja than the Asian giants' pace attack ahead of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final next month as per World Test Championship Schedule.
India will fight it out against New Zealand squad for WTC final in the inaugural summit clash at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, starting June 18. The wickets in this part of England have been known to assist slower bowlers for quite some time in red-ball cricket.
The India squad for WTC final and the five-Test series against England will have four quality spinners. Apart from Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will also be travelling to England.
Nicholls, who is a vital cog in New Zealand's batting unit, heaped praise on the Indian spinners for succeeding in different conditions.
"India have a very good seam attack and also have the experienced spinners like Ashwin and Jadeja. They have been consistent in all parts of the world (of late) and bring quality (to attack)," Henry Nicholls told PTI in an interview.
Henry Nicholls has scored two centuries and one fifty in his last three Tests. He has represented New Zealand in 37 Tests so far, amassing 2152 runs at an impressive average of 43.92.
Henry Nicholls looking forward to playing India's pace trio
Henry Nicholls stated that he is looking forward to facing India's pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma. The three pacers, in all likelihood, will start in the World Test Championship final if there are no injury concerns.
"Mohammed Shami along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma have proven their quality over the years which is similar to our seamers (Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner) on whom we really pride ourselves on. So if you are facing that kind of a line-up, it's an exciting challenge and as a group we are expecting it to be tough but also looking forward to the challenge," Henry Nicholls added.
Nicholls further added that New Zealand's 2-0 triumph over India last year will boost his side's confidence ahead of the WTC final.
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"It's an exciting challenge as finally we will be playing a Test match at a neutral venue. So that for both sides kind of levels the playing field. We beat them 2-0 a season back (2019-20). But we know and accept that it's a different challenge but as a group we take a lot of confidence from that series win against India. Obviously, Number one and two playing the final is a challenge too," the 29-year-old said.
New Zealand will play England in a two-Test series before taking on India in the WTC final.