India will face many problems in WTC final: De Grandhomme
NEW DELHI: New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme says India will have a problem of plenty when they play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against his country in June in England.
“With the amount of players they’ve got they can cover all bases because they’ve got real good seam bowlers these days and gun spinner, so I think the toughest thing for them is going to be picking the XI,” the ICC quoted de Grandhomme as saying in a tweet.
India and New Zealand did batles in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester and the two teams are set to relive the contest, only this time, it will be in the final of the World Test Championship.
In February, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the WTC final ater the Test series between South Africa and Australia was postponed.
New Zealand and India face off in the WTC final from June 18 to 22 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. India qualified for the final ater beating Australia away from home 2-1 this year and then thrashing England 4-1 at home.
The Australia series was notable as India were riddled by injuries, so much that they were without captain Virat Kohli and other star players like Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami in the final Test.
However, India ended up winning the match, thus becoming the first team in 32 years to beat Australia in a Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane.
The last time India and New Zealand squared off in a Test series, the Black Caps secured an easy 2-0 win over Virat Kohli’s team. During their tour of New Zealand in 2020, India blanked the hosts 5-0 in T20IS, before geting whitewashed 0-3 in the ODI. New Zealand bossed India in the Test series which began February 21, beating them by 10 and seven wickets in Wellington and Christchurch respectively.
For a lot of players – especially the likes of R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma – who only play Test cricket for India, the WTC final is like a World Cup final. Ater sealing their place in the final of the WTC, Kohli had said that the team can finally soak in the feeling.
“Now we can accept and admit that we are in the WTC final; it was a distraction for us. It did become a bit of distraction for us in New Zealand, but we took it one game at a time since,” Kohli had said ater winning the fourth England Test in March.
De Grandhomme, a 34-year-old explosive all-rounder, however, is not a sure starter in New Zealand’s eleven as he has only recently recovered from his ankle injury which had kept him away from international cricket for a year.
De Grandhomme last played for the Black Caps in March last year and missed the entire home season later due to the injury, for which he had to get surgery. He has made his return to the domestic cricket, but other players in his absence have done well to stake a claim for a spot in the line-up.
The right-hander has an impressive record in Tests – averaging 37.03 with the bat and 31.63 with the ball in 24 matches. Before the WTC final, New Zealand plays England in a 2-match Test series, and de Grandhomme is hoping to step again on the field for his country.