IND vs NZ: Official Update On The Pitch Report for WTC Final

Pitch Report for WTC Final: The clock is set for the much-anticipated inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton scheduled from 18-22 June. The winner of the heavyweight final encounter will be crowned as the ultimate champion in the purest format of the game. In a massive update, the pitch curator of Hampshire’s venue has given an important update regarding the conditions and the nature of the surface for the IND vs NZ WTC Final.

Official Update On Pitch Report for WTC Final

During a recent interview, head groundsman of Hampshire’s venue, Simon Lee, revealed that he is hoping to provide a lively wicket for the crucial India vs New Zealand World Test Championship final match. However, Simon also noted that it is really tough to produce a track that has some pace, bounce and carry looking at the current England weather conditions. Although, the pitch curator is trying his level best to prepare a sporting pitch for the mega final.

“For me personally I just want to get something out that has some pace, bounce, and carry in the pitch. It can be a hard thing to do in England as the weather doesn’t help us most of the time, but the forecast in the build-up is good with a lot of sun, so we are hopeful that we’ll get some pace and a hard pitch without over-rolling it and killing it.

“Pace just makes red-ball cricket exciting. I’m a cricket fan and I want to produce a pitch where the cricket lovers have to watch every ball in case they miss something, be that some class batting or an amazing spell of bowling,” Simon Lee told ESPNcricinfo.

“So, yeah, if we can get some pace and bounce in the pitch, but not too one-sided towards seam movement, we’ll be happy,” he added.

Related: India Likely Playing 11 for WTC Final

India vs New Zealand

It is quite obvious that New Zealand have better idea of the English conditions as they have already played a two-match Test series against England ahead of the WTC Final. The Kiwi team registered a sensational 8-wicket victory in the second Test match to seal the two-match series 1-0 in their favour and this win will surely give them great amount of confidence. On the other hand, Virat Kohli and Co. have gotten relatively lesser amount of time to acclimatize well in the English conditions.

Related: Day 3 Highlights of the India intra-squad match – WATCH

Ahead of the World Test Championship final, India are playing an intra-squad match at the Rose Bowl in Southampton as part of their preparations .

For more WTC Final news, click here