Xtra Time Web Desk: As India and New Zealand fight for the ICC World Test Championship final starting on Friday, there are a number of key individual match-ups that could well be the difference at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Here are five interesting battles:
Virat Kohli vs Trent Boult
It will be one of the most sought after battle in the World Test Championship final. Both Kohli and Boult had quite a bit of success against each other. While Kohli has been dismissed thrice by Boult in tests since 2012, the Indian captain too has scored 133 runs from 226 balls. In the 14 WTC matches, Virat Kohli has notched up two tons and four fifties with a high score of 254*. Boult also had a decent performance with the ball, picking 34 wickets from nine matches at an average of 29.29. On recent form the BlackCaps quick will have a slight edge over Kohli. Boult had a good outing in the second test against England at Edgbaston picking 4/85 and 2/34 helping his side win a memorable test and series.
Rishabh Pant vs Tim Southee
Rishabh Pant is easily the danger man for the Kiwis. Pant can change the complexion of the match in a session with his breathtaking stroke play. The wicket keeper batsman has been a revelation during the WTC cycle, amassing 662 runs at 41.37, with his strike rate of 69.17 the highest among all players with at least 400 runs in the competition. In a purple patch in 2021, his series-winning 89 not out at the Gabba against Australia was complemented by a 118-ball 101 in Ahmedabad, all while countering a challenging new surface. New Zealand will have to rely on their most experienced bowler in their lineup i.e., Tim Southee to counter Pant. The BlackCaps pacer has taken 51 wickets at 20.66 in the WTC, with three five-wicket hauls along the way, while also snaring a six-for (6/43) in his most recent Test outing against England. The veteran seamer has typically thrived against India, averaging 24.46 against them.
Rohit Sharma vs Neil Wagner
Rohit Sharma has much more to his game than the pull shot and the same goes for Neil Wagner and the short ball. The left hand pacer is a work horse for Kane Williamson. He is the first man Williamson turns to when the going gets tough. Wagner has been prone to injury due to which he had to miss a few tests in this WTC cycle. But still he managed to pick 32 wickets at an average of 22.00. Like Wagner, Sharma also missed chunks of the WTC through injury, sitting out six of India’s 17 matches. Like Wagner, he was still one of their most influential players and among just six players globally to make more than 1000 runs in the cycle. Averaging 64.37 since moving to the top of the order, Sharma has been comfortably the form opener in the WTC.
Devon Conway vs Ravichandran Ashwin
The emergence of opener Devon Conway has definitely lend more solidity to the New Zealand batting line up. A brilliant double hundred on test debut at Lords followed by another fascinating knock of 80 at Edgbaston which was in the winning cause. The South African born Conway will perhaps face the toughest challenge in his short career so far as he have to handle Team India off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. With as many as three left handers in the New Zealand top order batting line up, Ashwin will have a bigger role to play. He also has an excellent head-to-head record against the three pillars of New Zealand’s batting line-up: Williamson, Taylor and Tom Latham.
Kane Williamson vs Jasprit Bumrah
The Kiwi skipper will be the prized scalp for the Indian bowlers. Kane Williamson has amassed 7115 runs at an excellent average of 54.31 in the 83 Tests for New Zealand. But his record against India is not awe inspiring. He has aggregated 728 runs in eleven Tests against the Indians, doing so at a slightly below-par average of 36.40 while hitting a couple of centuries in the process. It will be an interesting matchup between Williamson and Bumrah. The Indian pace spearhead has accounted for the New Zealand captain twice in both innings in the last test both teams played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.