New Zealand the champions of the inaugural season of World Test Championship or rather I would term them as fluke champions. Do they really deserve that Test Mace? Mediocre performance in every away test series they play, It's not like they have problem playing only in sub-continent but also they have struggled to win a single match in Australia and England. Many Cricketing experts are against India for taking home advantage to win but India do win their away test matches too. India is currently the best touring test team in the world. And please, it's not about the captaincy even Williamson was losing away matches when he was the captain.
Now, some of their main players aren't even in the central contract. Currently, I feel only India and Australia are owning Test Cricket. England tried to revive their test Cricket by Bazball, but they could manage to win against small teams only. I mean they won against everyone except India and Australia. I am more excited for the India vs England test series next year as compared to BGT. I am eager to see if India manages to win against England, in their own deck with Bazball approach.
Approach! What is approach? Approach, Intent, we are listening these words quite often now but what exactly they mean? Approach is a way of dealing with something. England has a mindset that we will play aggressive Cricket even if we fail. They do tasted success with this approach, but still is this the right or I must say is this the only right way to go forward? See, I am not against Bazball or aggressive brand of Cricket, but Cricket is a game where you should play according to the situation. For example, a team is down with 30 for 4 or something and you guys are like no we will still hit the ball out of the park. Just take some time, hang around on the crease a bit, make bowler desperate or tired and just wait for the ball to be within your arc, that's what test Cricket is all about. I have seen Pujara, The main man who help us win in Australia 2 times was Pujara. Ask any Australian bowlers currently and they will say that they are more than happy to see Pujara out off Indian team.
I started by talking about New Zealand cricket and then shared my thoughts on England cricket, but both points are connected. I'm not getting off topic. England is responsible for ruining test Cricket, I mean every country is trying to adapt this style. Do you think in this era of Cricket there will be batters like Steve Smith, Pujara, Labushagne, Root, Rahane, etc. Even Root is playing lap shots and all, I know he is in red hot form but the way he is playing Cricket soon he will start miss judging the ball. It's not only about the team, it's also about the fans who give positive feedback.
Atleast England has some way and does perform against many oppositions, but New Zealand? They lost the the test series against Sri Lanka (2-0). 2nd match was complete humiliation. Sri Lanka scored 602/5d in the 1st innings and got rid of New Zealand batters at just 88 runs, also enforcing follow-on. Eventually, New Zealand lost the match by an innings and 154 runs. New Zealand remains the only team in the WTC history to not win an away test.(1,886 days since WTC started)
Now, the only team apart from India and Australia who is in the race of WTC final is Sri Lanka. Yes, with this series win Sri Lanka climbed up to the 3rd spot just below India and Australia in WTC ranking. Their next series is against South Africa in South Africa, so it is almost impossible for them to win a test match in South Africa. The updated WTC table is:
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