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World Test Championship final: Kiwis have a two-Test head start over India
The planners of New Zealand's cricket itinerary for 2021 could not have done a better job. The squad is assembling in Southampton, the venue of the World Test Championship final starting on June 18, more than two weeks ahead of opponents India with the first of three batches having reached on Sunday. Virat Kohli’s team, leaving for England on June 2, will also stay at the hotel within the Rose Bowl stadium. But the time India spends on quarantine, begins training, and then plays intra-squad practice games, New Zealand will be locked in a proper Test series, against England. The lead-up to the final thus couldn't be more lopsided - NZ battle-ready after two Tests in English conditions, and India looking to match them with practice sessions. The date of the WTC final was not set when the England and Wales Cricket Board invited New Zealand for the Test series, initially a backup plan due to the uncertainty over the WTC final. When the England-New Zealand Test series was confirmed in January end, the finalists of the Test championship had not been decided. New Zealand was confirmed only when the Australia-South Africa series was postponed due to pandemic-related concerns. The way things have panned out will suit New Zealand, who last played a Test series in England in 2015
