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The stage is all set for the inaugural Test Championship Final, the saga that has been going on from the past 2 years is finally coming to an end with two of the best sides fighting it out for the first ever title of World Test Champion. India and New Zealand will be locking horns against each other at the Hampshire Bowl from June 18 . It means a lot for both the teams as it`s the toughest and the oldest format of the game, the debate has been going on for years as of who is the worlds best test side, but now there's a stage to prove it on , the first title , it started with Clive Lloyd being the first man to lift the ODI World Cup in 1975, followed by MS Dhoni who led his young Indian side in 2008 to a World T20 Championship title and became the first man to lay hands over the coveted trophy. So will it be the ever calm and cool Kane Williamson or is it gonna be the Superstar of the game Virat Kohli who will lift that trophy on June 22.

Horrified with their own past and unsuccessful run at the ICC tournament finals , New Zealand would be looking to fix the missing pieces of the puzzle before the final they play against India. The 2019 World Cup Final would still be a fresh wound to many players in that side , where they lost by the barest of margins, so the Kiwi camp would be looking forward to get their head clear and raise the tempo high before they step out to play. On the other hand the Indian side is yet to lift an ICC trophy since 2013 when they beat England at Edgbaston to clinch the Champions Trophy. In the years that followed , the Indian side has dominated all over the world across formats and have also been a part of the 2014 T20 WC Final , 2015 WC Semi-final, ,2016 T20 WC semi-final , 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 WC Semi-final , the list clearly shows that the side has dominated but have mostly been the nearly side at the end of the tournament . Their recent success against Australia , where a young Indian side not only beat the mighty Australians but they also breached the fortress Gabba after 32 years. Following that series India also beat England at home turf and dominated the show with a 3-1 win over the English men. So the Indian team spirit is on a high and their test campaign is on a roll which will give them quite the confidence . 

The last time the two teams went head-to-head was when India toured New Zealand in 2019 and played a 2 Match Test series apart from the limited overs. The Kiwis were all over the Indian side having won both Test matches with quite ease, showing proper home domination.  However, the Test Championship will be played at a neutral venue and so we can obviously expect a very balanced and nail-biting contest this time around. 

Both teams are expected to go all guns blazing, both teams have their best sides ready, without any injuries as of now. Though, there were many speculations and questions were raised about Bhuvneshwar Kumar not being picked as he`s the star swing bowler of the Indian team who cannot be kept out when you play in England and considering his records in England it was a quite strange decision by the selectors. The New Zealand team will be playing two test matches prior to the WTC final which obviously will help them get back in shape and maintain a rhythm they attain, but at the same time it would mean a risk and exposure towards injury before the big game. In the meantime, India will be directly flying to England at complete their quarantine before the WTC Final, they are most likely to stay back in England even after the final as they have a test series against England just after the final they play.  

When we are talking about the two best teams, we surely would like to see some fierce battles between the players from both the sides. While everyone’s eyes will be on the cold battle between Trent Boult and Virat Kohli, some will also like to see how the veterans Ross Taylor and Ishant Sharma go about their business, both having played over a hundred test matches for their nation, they could really be the deciding factor between the teams as their experience will matter a lot in guiding their team. The fans would love to see the No.1 opener across formats, Rohit Sharma get some runs in the finals as he has been struggling to notch up a three figure outside India in Test cricket. The latest inclusion of the young Shubman Gill, the attacking opener has also given the fans a reason to cheer about, the batsmen made everyone go mad about his skills when he didn’t let the Australians get on top of him, he played some really beautiful shots and attacked the pace bowling with ease, his 94 in the 4th innings at the Gabba was a knock to remember , with many legends applauding the talent of Shubman gill, he really has to come up and above the expectations. The New Zealand batting order is phenomenal with Conway, Williamson and Taylor being very dominating against the bowling attack they face, how will Bumrah and Co. create an opening is yet to be seen. On the other hand the same thoughts would be crossing the minds of Tim Southee , Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson as to how will they deal with the explosive Indian batting attack led by Kohli . No matter what, it will be an exciting contest to witness, so just ay back , relax and experience the best test match of the year from June 18.