Australian legends Adam Gilchrist and David Warner have little doubt that Indian players' psyche would have been scarred after the recent whitewash at home by New Zealand,
South Africa have now won six successive Tests, starting with success in the West Indies in August and following it with two-Test series wins in Bangladesh and then home to Sri Lanka last month.
The live viewership of the Test played between June 18 and 23 touched 130.6 million across 89 territories.
Rohit emphasised the importance of keeping net sessions private to maintain focus and strategise effectively.
Parthiv Patel believes that Virat Kohli's exhibition with the bat will hold the way into India's possibilities in the WTC final.
'He is a brilliant player, the way he started in one-day cricket, he has been exceptional. He has been a huge part of India's success at top of the order.'
One of New Zealand's most successful coaches who is now currently director of cricket at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mike Hesson expects Rohit and Gill to open but wants Agarwal, who lost his spot in the eleven after two Tests in Australia, to be given a chance.
Ricky Ponting believes that India will play both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the World Test Championship final against Australia, starting June 7.
Labuschagne, known for his ability to score runs, especially against India, reminisced about the first time he saw Kohli don India's Test colours in the 2018 series.
The inaugural WTC final is scheduled to be held in Southampton from June 18-22.
'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'
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.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh?
New Zealand pacer Tim Southee said their World Test Championship triumph will take at least a couple of weeks to sink in.
England coach Brendon McCullum on Monday described his Indian counterpart Gautam Gambhir as a "strong leader of men", backing him to achieve success with the national team in near future.
Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed on a two-year contract till March 31, 2026.
While retirement is very much a cricketer's individual call, the counter point will be if the national selectors or the BCCI feel that they need to look at the bigger picture and have only one among Rohit and Virat in the ODI set-up going forward.
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.
India descended to the 6th position in the ICC World Test Championship points table due to a 2-point penalty
Rajneesh Gupta offers insights about the World Test Championship Final.
South Africa require five wickets and Sri Lanka need 143 runs as the second Test heads for a potentially exciting conclusion
Dravid insisted his team is not feeling any pressure going into the World Test Championship final against Australia.
Rohit Sharma has certain choices to make in the best interests of the Indian team heading into the fifth and final Test against Australia.
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.
Travis Head conceded that he was immensely fortunate to survive a fine spell from Jasprit Bumrah on the Day 2 of the third Test in Brisbane on Sunday.
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.
India managed to keep the five-Test series level at 1-1 heading into the Boxing day Test in Melbourne, the fragility of their top order remains a major concern for the tourists.
Warner has also taken aim at his Ashes nemesis England veteran pacer Stuart Broad, implying that he will not be the force that derailed the opening batter's 2019 trip this time.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin says New Zealand, despite the absence of the long-serving pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have quit playing the 50-over format, will pose a challenge to India.
Victory for South Africa followed Test success over West Indies in Guyana in August and Bangladesh in a two-Test series in October.
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.
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.
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
Even though India's all-round struggles in the ongoing series have compounded their issues, there were some soothing words from the opposition camp, which has not put a foot wrong on this trip.
'Sometimes you're so used to muscling the ball that you end up forgetting the soft hands which probably used to happen eight or 10 years back. A complete cricketer is a cricketer who plays T20 format and Test cricket successfully. He can adapt his game.'
Jasprit Bumrah doesn't seem to be a long-term captaincy option given his nagging fitness concerns.
