WTC final: "India will win pretty comfortably if they play anywhere near their best" - Tim Paine
Australian Test skipper Tim Paine has backed Team India to register a comfortable win over New Zealand in the upcoming World Test Championship final if Virat Kohli and co. play to the best of their abilities.
Tim Paine's Australia have come up against both India and New Zealand in the recent past. While the Aussies went on to defeat the Kiwis 3-0 in the 2019-20 series, they lost 2-1 to India in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Weighing in on who would come out triumphant in the WTC final, Tim Paine said:
"My prediction is, India will win pretty comfortably if they play anywhere near their best."
Paine also suggested that New Zealand didn't defeat a full-strength England team in the recent two-match Test series, with the hosts missing key players such as Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali. The Australian Test skipper added:
"I think New Zealand are a good team, for one, and secondly if we’re being realistic I think it’s a really different team that we saw England out on the field to what we’re probably going to see in the Ashes… keeping it in perspective it certainly wasn’t England’s strongest team.”
The Kiwis are set to enter the final as the no.1-ranked Test team following their eight-wicket win over England at Edgbaston.
"Really fancy New Zealand to beat India next week" - Michael Vaughan
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, meanwhile, has backed New Zealand to beat India in the WTC final, starting on June 18 in Southampton.
Vaughan was impressed with the Kiwis' performance in the two-match Test series against England and went on to tweet:
"NZ are a high class team .. Read the situation with the Bat in hand,skilful with the ball & catch brilliantly .. Really fancy them to beat India next week."
The last time India and New Zealand met in the longest format, the Kiwis comfortably emerged victorious at home, winning the two-Test series 2-0 in 2020.