WTC final: India will start as favourites, says VVS Laxman

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman believes that the Indian team will start as favourites, going into the final of the maiden edition of the World Test Championship (WTC). India take on New Zealand in the final of the WTC starting on June 18. The game between these two teams will take place at Hampshire Bowl, with the teams qualifying having finished in the top two slots in the league stages that ran from July 2019 to March 2021.

“Both the teams are good, but I think India will start as favourites because of the way the Indian team has played – not only over the last couple of years but over a period of time,” said Laxman in an interaction with Sportstar.

“They have embraced the challenges and have overcome whatever obstacles they faced – as recently as the Australia series – and there’s a lot of talent and depth in this Indian line-up. But having said that, since it’s a one-off match, I feel whichever team bats well in the first innings will hold the ace,” he added.

New Zealand is currently playing a two-match Test series against England at Lord’s. Laxman believes that the Black Caps will enjoy an advantage going into the final, considering the match practice they are gaining during the course of the series.

“Well, theoretically, that’s an advantage for New Zealand, because whenever you play any Test match in overseas conditions, you at least would like to play one – if not two – (practice) matches before the main match. There’s no doubt it helps you to get acclimatized to the conditions. That’s always been the norm for so many years,” he said.

“Especially for the batsmen, it will take time to get used to the new conditions. So, theoretically, New Zealand has the advantage,” added Laxman.

India finished as the number one team with 72.2 percentage points in the points table of WTC, the factor that determined the final placings rather than total points won, following a change to the points system owing to the COVID-19 disruption. New Zealand were the first team to ensure a place in the final with 70 percentage points.