New Zealand favourites against India in WTC final if conditions suit seamers, says Monty Panesar

Former England bowler Monty Panesar said that New Zealand would hold the advantage over India in the final of the World Test Championship if the conditions favour fast bowlers. Panesar argued that the Kiwi batters were better suited to play the moving deliveries than the Indians. Conditions in Southampton are cold and rainy at the moment and should they not change by the time of the match, then the Ageas bowl will see the Kiwis lift the title, the former spinner said. However, if the conditions are sunny, then the match would be better suited for the Indians. The WTC final is scheduled to begin on June 18.

“At the moment there is a lot of rain around. If the weather stays like this then it will be an interesting battle between the Indian and New Zealand seamers. The New Zealand batsmen also play the moving ball better than the Indian batsmen,” Panesar said to news agency PTI.

“So, that, that would be quite interesting to see if the ball is swinging and moving at some stage during the Test match, how the Indian batsmen, stand up to it compared to New Zealand,” he added.

NEUTRAL PITCH

The former left-arm spinner also said that he expected the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make a neutral pitch rather than one with a green top as the WTC final was supposed to be a good example of the longest format of the game.

“They have got a great draining system at the Ageas Bowl. Normally you see nice good hot weather. Hopefully, the game will go on for the whole four to five days,” he said.

“On that basis, you are looking at two spinners (Ashwin and Jadeja) from India and three seamers. If the weather is clear then India become favourites. So it depends a lot on the conditions,” he concluded.

CRUCIAL MATCHES AGAINST ENGLAND

The Indian team is scheduled to arrive in the UK on June 2 and get a training period of a little over 10 days before the match against New Zealand. The Kiwis, on the other hand, will carry superior match fitness as they will face England in two Test matches before the India game.

Panesar believes that if the Kiwis put up a good performance against the Three Lions, it would boost their morale exponentially and make them favourites against Virat Kohli’s men. However, should New Zealand fail to impress, the advantage will lie with the Indians.