WTC Final: “Bring the trophy home” – KL Rahul shares encouraging message for Indian teammates 

Indian batsman KL Rahul on Thursday shared an emotional message with his teammates, who will take part in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand starting on Friday.

Rahul, along with Mayank Agarwal, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, were left out of India’s 15-member squad for the WTC final.

Casting aside the disappointment, Rahul took to Twitter to wish the team luck for the crunch contest.

“So much of hard work has gone into reaching this final. Goodluck boys for the big game. The whole country and me are rooting for you. Bring the Trophy home #WTCFinal.”

Earlier, Indian captain Virat Kohli uploaded pictures of India’s photo session on his official social media handles. In the first image, he is seen posing with the 15-member squad, while the second picture includes the support staff as well.

WTC final will be a battle between two pace bowling attacks: Ian Chappell

According to former Australian captain Ian Chappell, the WTC final between India and New Zealand could boil down to a clash between two quality pace bowling units.

India have Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in their pace bowling ranks. The Kiwis, on the other hand, can utilize the services of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson.

In a video posted on ICC’s official Twitter handle, Chappell opined that India have better balance in their bowling attack compared to New Zealand.

“Looking forward to the very first WTC Final which is the battle of the two pace bowling attacks. Both New Zealand and India have got very strong pace bowling attacks. India have the better-balanced attack because they have got some good spinners and Jadeja is an all-rounder.”

“Another thing that I am looking forward to is the performance of Rishabh Pant. He is a much-improved cricketer,” Chappell added.

Former England women’s cricketer Isa Guha, meanwhile, shared a sneak peek of the surface in Southampton which will be used for the WTC final. At first glance, the pitch appears to have a clear green covering. The nature of the surface and conditions are likely to determine the playing XIs of the two teams.