The day has arrived when the two top-ranked Test teams, New Zealand and India, will face each other in the highly-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. The summit clash will begin at 9:30 AM GMT in Southampton.
The two teams have been preparing hard for the mega event which the whole world was waiting for. While the Kiwis were recently involved in the two-match series against England, Team India played an intra-squad match at Southampton.
Ahead of the epic clash, many experts and legends of the fascinating game have expressed their views and picked their choices concerning who will emerge as a champion. Following the bandwagon, former India opener Gautam Gambhir also shared his opinion on the red-hot topic.
While speaking to India Today, Gambhir reckoned that bowlers always play a major role behind any team’s victory in the red-ball fixtures as to register a win, teams have to pick 20 wickets. The cricketer-turned-politician praised the Indian bowling attack, saying they can trouble any opponent, irrespective of the surface.
“I have always believed that it is bowlers who win you the Test matches. To win a Test match, you need to take 20 wickets, and I think the current Indian bowling line-up can trouble any team at any surface,” said Gambhir.
However, when it comes to picking a side that has the edge over the other one, Gambhir went with Kane Williamson and Co., stating the Black Caps will have an advantage purely because they have played a series against England right before the WTC final and, most importantly they have won it as well.
“It is difficult to predict the favourites in the one-off final. But I feel New Zealand will have a slight advantage because they have played two Test matches in England, and most importantly, they have won it,” added the 39-year-old.
“You can play as many intra-squad matches, but there is no substitute to match practice. As a result, new Zealand will be better prepared for the WTC final,” Gambhir added further.
