WTC Final: 3 players to watch out for

WTC Final: 3 key player battles to watch out for | 3 key player battles to watch out for in the upcoming World Test Championship Final. The stakes are high as the World Test Championship (WTC) title will be on the line as the top two Test sides in the World will lock horns in a one-off Test at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton starting June 18. The inaugural World Test Championship was launched in 2019, setting the stage for a long tournament in red-ball cricket to determine the World Test Champion.

It garnered good attention from the viewers, which was the main reason why ICC decided to upstage the tournament. After 27 series and 71 matches long wait, New Zealand and India finished at the top of the WTC points table to seal the berth for the WTC final. There are match-winners aplenty on either side of the net and there will be some key contests that will determine the outcome of the match. India and New Zealand both have some of the best players of the current times and it will be a great contest to watch for us as viewers.

The likes of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson will be very important for their respective teams, but both teams have players other than these two who can turn the game in their teams’ favour, which makes for a cracking contest.

1. Kyle Jameison– Kyle Jamieson has bursted into the International arena, especially in the Test format. He has 36 wickets in just 6 games at an average of 13.28 and a strike rate of 33.39. He already has four 5-fors and has once picked 10 wickets in a test. Jamieson is very tall and will be very effective in the English conditions with the Duke ball. He made life hard for the Indian batters when they last played in New Zealand and can turn the game in the favour of the Kiwis if he gets going in the WTC final. Watch out for his ability to shape the ball sharply into the right-handers and generate extra bounce because of his height.

2. Ravindra Jadeja– Ravindra jadeja is in the form of his life. He is one of those rare players who can win games through his batting, bowling or fielding. Jadeja is going through a purple patch at the moment especially with the bat. He was hitting sixes, picking wickets, and taking catches for fun in the IPL. We saw how he single-handedly defeated RCB. With Hardik Pandya out, Jadeja is very crucial for India with his all-round abilities in the WTC final. His batting has improved a lot in recent times, and is certainly most capable enough to turn the table on its head.

3. Rishabh Pant – Rishabh Pant has achieved a lot in the last 12 months. He took India to an amazing series win against Australia in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy. He was exceptional against England when they toured India a few months back. Pant Became the captain of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL after Shreyas Iyer got ruled out due to injury and the team did well under his leadership.

Pant’s style is very unorthodox and the special thing about him is that he never tries to change that even in the longest format. He will play his shots irrespective of the situation. He has climbed to rank 6th in the ICC Test Match Rankings for the batsmen. Pant is a genuine match winner and can be unstoppable once he is in the mood, and watch out for him as he looks to take the Kiwi bowlers on. These were the three players who can turn the World Test Championship finals in their team’s favour. Do any other X-Factor players come to mind? Have your say.