WTC Final 2021: India Vs New Zealand – Who will Win?

The very first World Test Championship Final will start on the 18th of June 2021 and will see India and New Zealand battle it out for the right to be crowned the very first WTC champion. These teams have been two of the best test cricket sides for a while now, but who should we put our money on to ensure our own online cricket betting success?

Keep reading on to find out.

Who Has the Advantage?

At first glance, when you look at India vs New Zealand, it does seem that the Kiwis have the upper hand. Not only will the WTC Final be played in seam-friendly conditions, but New Zealand recently finished a two match Test series in England just before the WTC Final, which they won 1-0. This means that they should be accustomed to English conditions. On the other hand, India will be going into the WTC Final with little practice and will have to quarantine before.

However, New Zealand's away record against the likes of India, Australia, South Africa and England over the last 15 years is nothing to write home about, having just earned three wins. India, on the other hand, got an amazing victory in Australia not too long ago, and proved that they can bat away from home. There has also been a number of reports that the pitch will be flatter than normal to try and make sure that the match goes to the fifth day. Either way, it will be close, as both team will be keenly motivated to win 'the most important test match ever played'.

India Team Preview

India did not have an easy path to the WTC Final. They needed to get a win away in Australia, and then had to raise their game against a potentially tricky England side at home. The biggest challenge that the team will have for the WTC Final is a severe lack of game practice. The players have played an intra-squad match at Southampton, but New Zealand have actually been playing some competitive Tests.

India's Test side is pretty settled, although there will be plenty debate about who should fill a few vital positions. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma are almost certain to open the batting unless one picks up an injury before Friday. These two batsmen have a really tough job during the IN vs NZ match as they have to negotiate any swing and prevent their side from losing early wickets. Both of these players like to attack and will likely carry on being aggressive regardless of the conditions, meaning that they might give up a few chances. If you were looking to make a top batsman bet, we would avoid betting on Gill and Sharma in this IN vs NZ match.

Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will make up the middle order for India vs New Zealand. These are three very good batsman and will have a say on who goes on to win the match. Kohli has been under a little bit of pressure in Test cricket because he has not hit a century since 2019, but we would not bet against him making a century in the India vs New Zealand match. Rishab Pant will come in at six, and he scored a century in India's warm up match, so is in some sort of touch.

Now comes the trickier part, the bowling department. Do India want to play the Test with one spinner or two? Do they know who their best three fast bowlers are? We believe thar Ravindra Jadeja will play and Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to join him thanks to the number of left-handers that will be playing for New Zealand. This means that there is space for three fast bowlers for the IN vs NZ match, and we feel that Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammad Siraj will get the nod.

This is a really strong team, so you should definitely not count them out just because they have not played an awful lot of Test cricket this year.

New Zealand Team Preview

When compared to India, the New Zealand team has had a great build-up to the final. They have given game time to 16 players and won a Test series versus England. Their batting looks very strong, while there is a lot of competition in the bowling department.

Dean Conway has cemented his spot at the top of the order for some time to come, and will open alongside Tom Latham. As they are both left-handed batsmen, they will be tested by Sharma who loves to bowl against left-handers. Kane Williamson will come in at 3, and he will be followed by Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, and BJ Watling. Williamson is ranked as the world's best Test batsman, but he does not have a great record in England. Having said that, he loves to play against India, so maybe it is wise to back him.

Numbers 7 and 8 in the order are a point for discussion. Ajaz Patel has played well, but will they want to play him instead of Mitchell Santner? Also, Daryl Mitchell versus Colin de Grandhome is a tough call for the selectors to make. Picking three fast bowlers will not be easy either. Kyle Jamieson has a very good record against India, while Trent Boult and Tim Southee are almost certain to start? This would mean that the talented Matt Henry and Neil Wagner miss out. The easy option for the selectors would be to play four pace bowlers and one spin bowler, but then they would have to sacrifice a bit of batting depth.

WTC Final Toss Prediction

The captain that wins the toss today, be it either Kohli or Williamson, will most likely choose to bat first.

It seems that there will be decent bounce and pace in the surface for the first few days, after which the wicket could start to crumble a bit and bring the spin bowlers into action. Therefore, getting a huge total on the board in the first innings is going to be key and our captains will intend to take advantage of that.

Our WTC Final Betting Tips

When it comes to IN vs NZ, we feel that India has a better team than New Zealand, regardless of what the conditions are. India did lose to the Kiwis the last time they played, but that series was in New Zealand and the India team were developing still. From the two teams, India travel well and we feel they can win this game.

Our Betting tip: Bet on India to win the ICC WTC Final 2021.