WTC Final: "It is 55-45 in favor of New Zealand" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has picked New Zealand squad for WTC final as the slight favorites for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Team India.
The Indian team for WTC final will face the Kane Williamson-led outfit in the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, starting on June 18. The Blackcaps will be better acclimatized to the English conditions as they face the hosts in a two-match Test series before the final clash against India.
In a video shared on his Facebook page, Aakash Chopra replied in the affirmative when asked by a fan if the WTC final is edging towards New Zealand as the Southampton conditions are similar to those in the Trans-Tasman nation.
"Don't rule India out but it is 55-45 in favor of New Zealand. Although they are No.2 in the Test rankings and play well at home but when we talk about Southampton, they can play slightly better than us in these conditions in the first half of the English summer," said Chopra.
The pitches in the first half of the English summer tend to favor the seamers, with the overhead conditions also generally to their advantage. While the Indian bowlers can prove to be handy in such conditions, their batsmen will have a tough task at hand to keep the Kiwi bowlers at bay.
"New Zealand would have already played two Tests there" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted New Zealand playing a couple of Tests against England ahead of the WTC final will work to their advantage.
"They [New Zealand] would have already played two Tests there. So, there is a slight difference. The heart is Indian and will say that we will defeat them but we are not able to go to New Zealand and defeat them," said Chopra.
The former India player pointed out that an almost full-strength Virat Kohli-led side came up short in their last trip to New Zealand and they might be confronted with similar conditions in Southampton.
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"It's a fact, we didn't defeat them now as well. The team which won in Australia had lost in New Zealand while it was almost a full-strength side in New Zealand. There could be problems in Southampton as well," added Aakash Chopra.
New Zealand trounced India 2-0 in February-March 2020. However, with an excellent overseas series win in Australia under their belt, the Indian team will hope to rise to the occasion and clinch the inaugural ICC World Test Championship starting from June 18 as per WTC final schedule.