After reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that a best of three final for the World Test Championship (WTC) would have been nicer, but he assured that his side will give its best shot in the summit clash.
Team India on Saturday roared into the final of the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) following an emphatic 3-1 series win over England.
Virat Kohli’s men, who defeated England in the fourth and final Test by an innings and 25 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, will now face New Zealand in the WTC final slated to be played from June 18 to 22, with June 23 as the reserve day at the iconic Lord’s Stadium in London.
“For people like me, Pujara, Rahane, and Ishant, who did not play the 2019 World Cup, this is literally the World Cup. I also saw Ishant speaking about it. I am happy for every member for making it to the finals. I am sure we can get a positive result if we adapt quickly because we just have one match as the final. It would have been nicer if we had three, but we just have one, we have to live with that and we will try to give our best shot,” said Ashwin in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.
Talking about the WTC final, pacer Ishant Sharma said: “Feeling great to be a part of this team. Really happy, the kind of effort we have put in 2-2.5 years for this championship, it is a tremendous achievement that we have made it to the final. Actually, I am looked forward to the final.” Batsman Cheteshwar Pujara also said that is an amazing feeling to qualify for the WTC final.
“Boys have worked really hard, it has been more than two years that all this began. We are hopeful that we will do well in the WTC final, it is an amazing feeling for all of us to qualify for the WTC final,” said Pujara.
India finished as the number one team with 72.2 percentage points in the WTC points table, 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.
The Black Caps were the first team to ensure a place in the final with 70 percentage points. Australia finished third with 69.2 percentage points while England ended with 61.4 percentage points at the fourth position. The Black Caps had qualified for the WTC final following the postponement of the Test series between South Africa and Australia.
In November last year, the ICC had confirmed that the WTC points system would be amended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
