'We have seen both teams not having played Test matches for a couple of months. So, it is a one-off. Anything can happen. I will sit on the fence'
New Zealand pacer Tim Southee said their World Test Championship triumph will take at least a couple of weeks to sink in.
The postponement of the Test series between South Africa and Australia means New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final to be held in England from June 18 to 22, with June 23 as the reserve day.
The victorious New Zealand cricketers will carry the ICC World Test Championship Mace on a week-long, nationwide tour of the country, starting on July 26, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Wednesday.
India captain Virat Kohli is not too concerned about the limited preparation time that his team will get for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand as he believes that it has the requisite understanding of conditions from its past experience of playing in England.
The seeds of India's defeat were sown in Melbourne, where Bumrah had to bowl 53.2 overs -- 24.4 in the second innings on the back of 28.4 in the first innings. With just three days to recover, that was an inhuman burden on a bowler who had bowled 151 overs in this series.
India will be under tremendous pressure when they face an equally circumspect Australia in a battle of two out-of-form batting units in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth
Virat Kohli spent about 45 minutes in the nets and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah bowled full tilt as the Indian cricket team on Friday began its preparations
Rajneesh Gupta offers insights about the World Test Championship Final.
Given the Indian batting line-up's weakness against swinging deliveries, New Zealand could go in with an all-pace attack with the pitch likely to offer pace and bounce.
Shubman Gill is all set to open with Rohit Sharma after he was named in India's 15-man squad for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, in Southampton, from June 18.
The Indian players played in the IPL before the T20 league was suspended due to coronavirus.
New Zealand made as many as six changes for the ongoing second Test, some forced and some rotated ahead of the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton from June 18.
Australia coach Justin Langer said on Tuesday his team's "slack" attention to detail in bowling required overs in the India series had cost them a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
A turner in Pune exposed the soft underbelly of Indian batters' technique against slow bowling but as per the current team's philosophy, it has decided to take the bull by its horns by asking for a turner where the ball might turn at right angles from first hour.
'That's one we need to tick off, definitely, in particular at home... we should pretty much win every series here at home.'
Mayank Yadav should be on the plane to Australia if Mohammed Shami is not available for selection, asserted Brett Lee, one of the most destructive fast bowlers of all time, who has high hopes from the Indian pace sensation on the true, bouncy wickets Down Under.
India last won a major ICC tournament back in 2013 -- the ICC Champions Trophy.
Rain washed out an entire day's play for the second time in the ICC World Test Championship final in Southampton on Monday, diminishing hopes of a result in the India vs New Zealand contest.
India's star batters have lost a lot of confidence over the years by playing on rank turners, with their home averages taking a beating and affecting their careers adversely, feels former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Ricky Ponting advised star batters Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to stop trying hard to rediscover their best and pushing themselves too hard and just focus on watching the ball and scoring runs.
Aiming to complete the World Test Championship cycle and host the final in June as per schedule, the ICC is contemplating splitting points for all those WTC bilateral series that had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change in WTC rule, prompted by the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed Australia (82.22%) to leapfrog India (75) to the top of the standings
But the 32-year-old with 302 Test wickets didn't deny that it was indeed a great opportunity to gear up for the big battle against India.
World champions Australia will hope to round off one of the nation's most successful seasons in cricket with victory in a rare Test series in New Zealand starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Thursday.
When you are defending to save a game, a loose delivery comes along and you suddenly opt to play an attacking shot, you are unlikely to hit as well as if you were playing your naturally aggressive game all along. First Pant, then Jaiswal, found that out the costly way, observes Prem Panicker.
Kane Williamson's team became Test cricket's first official world champions
What went wrong for India in the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand?
The India series starts on August 4. Vaughan reckons England must get better at playing the "long game" on good wickets.
India finished top of the ICC World Test Championship standings after crushing England by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad on Saturday, to claim the series 3-1.
India pacer Mohammed Siraj on Thursday said the team planned to bowl only bouncers to Travis Head irrespective of the outcome.
To express solidarity with those affected, Team India will wear black armbands, the BCCI said in a statement.
India arrived in Bengaluru seeking a big win over the 2021 champions to improve their chances of making a third successive final in June 2025, but will now need to battle to keep alive their run of 18 straight home series victories since 2012.
Williamson agreed that getting Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara out early did set it up nicely for them.
The story of Ravichandrean Ashwin remains incomplete without the mention of Ravindra Jadeja.
New Zealand on Monday named a strong squad, which includes five spin bowling options
'Pathum Nissanka is easily one of the best batters to have come out of Sri Lanka in the recent past and he has delivered once again,' he tweeted with an applause emoji.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 2nd Test played between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur, on Tuesday.
'The most important thing is that they will always have my back. Aim to make it a happy and secure dressing room.'
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