India vs New Zealand, Final, ICC World Test Championship Final 2021 - CommentaryIND vs NZ, Final, ICC World Test Championship Final 2021 - Commentary

Harsha Bhogle: New Zealand are an unassuming, humble side who play cricket as it should be played. Lots of hardworking, disciplined, skilled players. This is probably their best test side and you have to admire them.

Manan: Where is rain when you need it?

Tanmay: @Santosh This team always fights, whether or not we win. Bowling negative lines will mean that they have given up. We don't want that as fans. Even if we go down, we will go down fighting.

Santosh: Why India is still trying for wickets? Can't they bowl wide outside off and let batsman fetch it from there? Nothing to win from here anyways.

Shashank S J: @Kishan - It hurts the same amount irrespective of which team India is losing to. Just because it is New Zealand should not sooth by the least. It hurt in the WC, it hurts now too. ICC Mace has been India's for a long time and to lose it in under 4 days of cricket hurts.

Kishan: If India had lost this WTC final to some other team it would have hurt really bad, but New Zealand deserves this.... it smoothens the pain a bit

Parag: You gotta feel for Bumrah

Alok Kulkarni: "Indians shoulders are dropping, too many hit me balls." -- That dropped catch won't help those dropping shoulders

PD: "How's the light in Southampton??" -- Looks fine right now

Priyansh Joshi: @Karthik I do feel India may be able to pull this one off if they take a couple of quick wickets.

Abhirup Giri: We Indians hope the light doesn't hold till 19:00

APS: "If Ashwin does it for Lefties, Can Jadeja do the same for these righties?" -- Might be worth a go

Prakash Mohan: "What will be the strategy from the Kiwis, as almost 3 runs needed per over?" -- Well these last couple of overs have brought it down

Karthik: Does anyone feel India is still in the game?

Harsha Bhogle: 138 in 53 overs. Need the new ball to knock over 2-3 early. Not enough runs, you fear. New Zealand have bowled beautifully today.

Karthik: New Zealand tail contributed some valuable runs in first innings. That put India on back foot now. Indian tail should wag for some time now.

Venkat: So much talk about head position, leg movement and all other techniques related to batting in tests all game long yet when Pant comes to bat all of that goes out the window.

Shivam: First bye run given by Watling in his last match. Superb keeping in swinging conditions.

bose: Of course Watling is not going anywhere, wont matter if he is injured for the rest of his life now. Its his last game, he will do anything to stay on the field for as long as possible

Harsha Bhogle: Fasten your seat belts. Pant and Jadeja aren't going to hang around, prodding and nudging. And if they come off, it will be thrilling.

Viswas: "Missing Shardul and Washington in this crunch situation." - That may have been a one-off, but that really was a partnership for the ages. Hard to see India winning at the Gabba without those two.

Ashap: "Why batsman now a days don't use the cut shot more often? I mean they push at the ball which is excellent for cut shot and get out in the slip." - There are many theories: bats are a lot more bottom-heavy these days, which can have difficult pick-ups despite low-density player clefts. They're a lot more prevalent on bouncier tracks in Australia and South Africa, where the bounce can be trusted, and cross-batted shots can be played without a whole lot at risk.

Sam Meher: "150 to win for NZ." - Don't dangle the carrot too close.

Roy: "Can India declare after lunch? Set NZ a target of 180 Maybe?" - That's certainly an attractive carrot to dangle in front of the Kiwis. It'll be a test of intent for Virat Kohli's India. Are they satisfied with sharing the title, or do they want it all for themselves?

Ayush Kumar: "India should be aggressive in this innings if they want to have result of this match in their favour, by sending Rishabh Pant if a wicket falls after a solid start by the openers."

Chethan C R: "Indian batters need to be careful in the first hour of their second innings because the ball is still swinging and you cannot afford to loose wickets."

Raman: "In the last two years India has been good at playing for a win, not at setting up a match like is the case with this one now."

Harsha Bhogle: If India pulled the game their way before lunch, I'm afraid New Zealand pulled it back in the next session. They can now attack safe in the belief that there isn't enough time for India to set them a stiff target. From here it is about saving the game for India. Probably 125 overs left in the game at best India need to bat at least 80. If they bat those many, the game is pretty safe from their point of view.

AV: "It's a good counter-attack from the Kiwis. A 50 run lead would effectively rule out the possibility of an Indian win.."

Sai Manoj Challa: "Kane Williamson (KW) - The Kiwi Wall"

Gautam Anand: "It has been seen before too that India often leaks runs at the latter end of the opposition innings. Can't afford that in this game as the margin is extremely small."

Mike: "It's the 20s and 30s this match is going to be determined by if we are to get a result."

Sreenivas K V: "KW has faced more balls than anyone else in this Test. Surely class and technique matters a lot. He should turn aggressive now!!"

Lenold: "What a transformation from second innings Shami to first innings" -- Well, it's technically day five, so ..

Anant: "People have been suggesting that Ishant's length has been too short in this match, but for Jamieson that same length would be perfect."

Fahad: "Meanwhile I am looking for a course that can help me in making my posts get published on Cricbuzz." -- All the best!

Abhi: "NZ's intentions are clear KW will drop anchor at one end others around will score quick runs. India need to counter this plan."

Michael: "With footmarks and pressure on NZ batsman, Ashwin seems the ideal choice to bowl with the old ball."

HJ: "Shami and Ishant were doing so well. Not sure how wise it was to bring Bumrah back into the attack."

Prakhar: "A quickfire 30, can really put New Zealand ahead. India needs to be more aware of Colin, Jamieson and even Wagner."

Prateek: Now Now Are we going to see something special

Vijay: Dentury for Williamson !!

guna: Patience is one thing, scoring 3 of 60 balls is another. I cant help but feel kane is going to fall for pressure he built on himself.

Padhu: Time to introduce Ash to remove the lefties.

Sai Chandra: Hoping Shami's luck in England to take a 180 degree turn after this wicket....

Ranganath: Apart from one rash swing from Taylor nothing given away by the Kiwis. Patience written all over this

Abhishek: Indian bowlers may not be at their best but they have made sure that New Zealand doesn't race away, a couple of wickets and India will be back in the game.

Shiva: Disciplined batting display from NZ from the beginning of the innings!! Indians will have to work hard here.

Gopal: Irrespective of seam or swing, seems like Indian bowlers are bowling a tad bit short and Ishant who seems to be bowling slightly fuller is bowling on the leg side line. India needs to attack the top of off stump

Ankit Ray: India missed the trick by not starting with Shami today.

Vishal: Shami in and the ball starts swinging.

satyaaditya: Indian bowlers are relying more on seam rather than swing, contrary to what worked like magic for NZ bowlers

Ram: "how are Indian bowlers bowling today? Are they any better then 2nd day?" -- Don't understand this perception that India didn't bowl well last time. Maybe Bumrah took a little time to find his rhythm. But they were good that day as they are now. The matter of getting lesser swing is different. Bumrah and Shami operate differently to the NZ attack.

Goutham: Has the pitch changed? Is the ball swinging? -- Pitch definitely seems greener than Day 3. Ishant is getting swing. Bumrah and Shami are primarily seam bowlers.

Piyush Mathur: "Did we loose any overs because of the delay?" -- We did. Will be 91 overs now instead of 98 today

Hrushikesh Bompilwar: I Disagree with Dheeraj...instead of Shami, Jaddu will be key bowler seeing the footmarks on pitch.

Dheeraj: I think Shami is going to be key bowler for india in this session.

Suyash Gupta: "My gut feeling is NZ would collapse like a pack of cards in the next session that we'd have." -- Well someone definitely needs to collapse like a pack of cards for a result

harry: how annoying it is to see the band of rain just sitting over the South of UK where this ground is whilst north and too some extent, rest of the UK is dry.

Arun Sai: @Shashwat, @Sachin, these high expectations can also be linked to the beautiful bowling of NZ pacers in this match. They swung the ball well and used their variations to great effect.

Shashank S J: "Can we get an update on the weather once every 10 minutes?" -- We'd hate to subject you all to so much despair and disappointment

Shashwat: @Sachin The expectations on Bumrah, Shami and Ishant are bound to be high if players like Siraj are sitting in the bench and it's an ICC Final event.

Sachin Kulkarni: "Why is Bumrah not finding rhythm? Is it coz of playing too much t20 cricket?" -- He did find rhythm towards the end yesterday. Think there's too much being made of it just because the expectations are so high

Ramesh S: We can have this test match instead of the first test match vs Eng.

sahith htihas: "wishing that the conditions there gets updated to 'start delayed due to wet outfield' at least" -- Ambitious

Anil Kumar Yogi: "Why they don't cover the full ground instead. This will help to save the time it takes to dry the outfield." -- Drainage is pretty good so outfield shouldn't be that much of a problem if it stops raining. But it has to stop raining.

Mayan: "Update??" -- Sky is grey, rain is wet, covers are plenty

Aseem: "Today is gone. How is tomorrow looking. How much play can we expect?" -- Tomorrow's much better, hopefully we'll get all the overs in. But we're not giving up on today either. We'll leave that for people who like to learn their lessons

Rishav Kumar Agarwal: "When match will start" -- Not soon

ANT R: "The Bengaluru Traffic moves faster than this match!" -- Now let's not exaggerate

Tejaswi K: "The Forecast for next 3 days looks good, why can't they add one more reserve day now!!?"

Memon: "Write something" -- Rain. Covers. Covers. Rain.

Ravi: Every one talking about bumrah being seam bowler. I think the hattrick he took at kingston, he swung the ball a lot.

Sumanth: Right! Bumrah got his rhythm

papanable: Ashwin is really bowling beautifully right now,,, NZ not looking comfortable against him... Will Ash prove to be the trump card ??

Venkat: "It's time to bring in Jadeja as Williamson is at the crease." -- Actually Ashwin has a good record against Williamson, having dismissed him five times. Only Anderson has been more successful against him with seven dismissals

Alok Kulkarni: Where will India get a wicket from? There have been few plays and misses as you would expect in England, nothing Alarming for NZ, Both Batsman look Set! Ominous signs for India.

Mrdul: I don't buy this 'Indians are more of seam bowlers' argument. In 2018 vs ENG, there was plenty of movement for the bowlers. Something is off today.

Abid: One more bad session and india would be on backfoot in this match. They just can't afford this opening stand to grow.

Akarsh: I think india is missing bhuvi because he can swing the ball in air or an extra pacer who swings the ball in air

Prinshu Agarwal: "India missing the services of an extra pacer, someone who can swing the bowl through the air, could be a match winner in these conditions."

Shankar Prasad: "Indian pacers are not making the Kiwis play at the deliveries. Way short outside the off stumps."

Karthikeyan L A V: "I don't see this strategy of around the wicket to left-handers working right now. Both the openers seem settled well, this ploy is also taking out swing too. Very much a sub-continental mindset..!"

Anand: "Indian Test Cricket starts when spinners take control. Everything else is just decoy."

YM: "This Dukes ball starts playing tricks one the lacquer comes off. So, Kohli is possibly waiting for the lacquer of the ball to come off before getting in Shami."

Ben: "I sense Bhuvneshwar Kumar may not have the stamina, but he could have been used for 4 over short spells in red ball cricket. There is no better swing bowler in India than him."

Rohit: "Is it because of the lacquer on the ball or have the conditions changed from morning? Indian bowlers haven't been able to extract the same amount of swing as NZ bowlers." -- It's because these Indian bowlers are predominantly seam bowlers, not swing

Chethan C R: "I would have given the new ball to Mohammad Shami along with Ishant...these are perfect swinging conditions and no other bowler in world cricket has a seam position better than Shami."

Abhinav Shukla: "Do not judge a pitch until both teams have had a chance to bat. The opening partnership of NZ is going to play a massive role in the outcome of this game."

Harsha Bhogle: Jamieson is such a star. Not just a tall hit-the-deck bowler. Swung it beautifully. Already looking like the go-to bowler

Aman Yadav: "So great to see dark shadows on the ground. The sun is out!"

Sri Harsha: "Ishant Sharma is key here. Can't expect Shami and Bumrah to play long. This is the partnership for Jadeja to get the most out of."

Evin Steven: "NZ should have hung onto Wagner for another two overs before taking the new ball. The new ball is hard and will travel for quick runs."

Harsha Bhogle: Very difficult morning for India. Shows you why batting is tough and why some think 250-270 is a good score. Thought Rahane was looking much better this morning

krish mehta: "NZ have missed a trick by not continuing with the old ball which was doing quite a bit. This new ball just might allow some valuable runs for India."

Sarthak Gupta: "Given how the pitch is deteriorating, getting to 200-220 by the end of this session will be the best thing. The Indian spinners will be having a field day when they get to bowl."

Jimit: "Except for Pant's wicket, every dismissal had a lot of hardwork and planning behind it. Even with all the movement, this pitch demands a lot of discipline from the bowlers. And NZ's bowlers have shown exactly that. Also, credit to Indian batsmen for playing 78 overs of quality pace bowling."

Yagyansh: "Not sure if resilience is the answer today. The ball is doing too much and NZ bowlers have stuck to a fixed and perfect line and length. There definitely is a ball with your name on it, no point in blocking, score as many as possible till the time you are out there."

Rahul Gupta: I am not sure if Kyle Jamieson had a breakfast because the way he is feasting at Indian line up seems he is too hungry.

Ishant: This game cannot be more evenly poised. The final is surely living up to expectations till now.

Sankhadip: If the match ends in a draw due to the bad weather, then whole purpose of WTC will be lost, which was to make test cricket popular again amongst the modern audience.

Harsha Bhogle: The UK Met Office says there is a very small chance of rain today but, sadly, that tomorrow isn't looking too good

Anubhav Mishra: "What do you think about VVS's opinion that this final should've continued until a result was obtained?" - The Timeless Test idea does have some merit, I admit. Play until the overs are completed. Perhaps it's something that may be considered in the next Championship. After the cancelled WTCs in 2013 and 2017, it's a big deal that this was allowed to go ahead.

Neev Patel: "Quick question, cant they just turn on the lights they use for a ODI/T20 game at night?" - The red ball's visibility is questionable under artificial lights, hence the use of pink balls for D/N Tests. So quick answer: nope.

Anand Mohan Tiwari: "It's sad to see 'Play stopped due to bad light' in the Era of Day-Night Test matches" - I mean, they can't randomly switch to a pink ball now :/

saiteja: "Are we in for Kohli special?" - As a completely neutral and non-superstitious commentator, I politely discourage jinxing

Rohan Kuduchkar: "Not a complete green top. Anything between 250-300 could shift the balance in favor of India given that they are playing their prime spinners. Wonder if New Zealand could have played Ajaz Patel." - If things do get drier when India bowl, spin will certainly come into play. Either way, 250-300 is just above par given the conditions.

Chetan Raut: "Pujara needs to improve his strike rotating ability. English conditions stays the same pretty much the whole day. So no point in just consuming balls and not scoring runs. This is will increase pressure on Kohli to keep scoreboard moving and might as well lead for a false shot." - English conditions may be constant, but the condition of the ball will change, and so will the condition of the bowlers. It's Pujara's primary job to wear the opposition down, while the likes of Pant and Kohli butcher away at the other end.

Niloy Saha: "Is Pujara taking his time or he was told to take time?" - My best guess is, both.

Harsha Bhogle: Great thing about Test cricket. Keep plugging away and the tide turns as it has for New Zealand. Marginally New Zealand's session now

Adarsh Shetty: Considering there are no spinners and only fast bowlers, this is excellent overrate from New Zealand

Ishan Kacker: Jamieson has breathed new life into the attack. Wagner and Jamieson would be key in the next session.

sri sai subramanyam davanam: New Zealand bowlers are bowling more outswingers than inswingers, which indeed tells that they are not attacking the stumps, instead they are tempting batsmen to go for shots which leads to edges... They removed Rohit using same strategy...

Aritra: The perfect balance of Defense and Attack from Indian Openers. Commendable Start indeed after loosing the toss.

Bhanu aryal: One thing I really need to say is Matt Henry is criminally underrated. In these type of games and pitches, you tend to go for extra pace.

Kunaal: Boult is bowling with scrambled seam...is the swing gone..? -- No. It's one of his variations to trouble the batter when he's expecting swing,

Rahul Bhagtani: 10+ runs without losing a wicket in an ICC Knockout game feels great if you are a ICT fan

Gabriel: The Kiwi bowlers are bossing the swing. Fantastic display of swing bowling at its best.

Sameer: Overs lost due to slow over rate shall also be played on Day 6? - No

Siddhant: It will be interesting to see how young Shubhman Gill performs against this top-notch bowling attack keeping in mind he has not been in the best of his form.

Divyansh: "You don't win or lose the games because of the 11 you select. You win or lose with that those 11 do on the field." - Rahul Dravid. I hope our 11 will give their best.

Sharath J: As a Blackcaps fan, I hope India's recent trend of losing the first match and coming back stronger continues. :) :)

Chethan C R: If India wins the toss, I think they should look to bat first and look to post a 350 + score and with 2 spinners in the team they won't be happy to bat last.

Sahil: The curator of the pitch said that spin might play an important role later in the match if conditions remain dry. Given the fact that it is raining, can India make changes to their lineup if needed, although they announced their XI yesterday? -- Yes, India can change their XI since the toss hasn't happened.

Abinash Das: The rain will force the captains to change their strategy and approach during the match right from the toss. It's also a kind of stern examination that tests the teams' flexibility, adaptability & ability to Improvise on the fly. The rain has made the level of the contest a notch higher.

Ravi: Howz the situation in Southampton now. Is it rain heavily or just a drizzle? -- Currently not quite pouring, but rain is persistent.

ARK: Rain gods, Please show some mercy. We have reached this point after 686 days to this juncture and we obviously don't want it to end with a no-show

Commentary not available for this match