As we reach the final day (reserve day used) of the Championship Finals, we all believe both India and New Zealand will give us mouth watering entertainment that has nail-biting finish.
However a draw is a win-win for both teams!. Then why would any team take unnecessary risk to create an outright result?.
The weather was the real culprit in this case, not only it rained , but the light also deprived continuous play on all 5 days. In case if condition improves and play is possible for 90+ overs, than would India take a calculated risk and set a target…. and would New Zealand accept the challenge and take risk ?.
Here is my analysis that suggests otherwise!.
Teams Batting analysis
The first innings
One need to look how they batted in their first innings. It produced the slowest start. India lost its first wicket in the 21st over and NZ in their 35th over, yet both teams crawled their and barely manage to reach 200 scores. The Indian batsmen on average took 7.45 balls to get off the mark, and New Zealand batsmen took 4.35 balls to get off the mark. This being said, the condition always allowed bowlers (all type)regular opportunity.
In this WTC (World Test Championship)cycle both teams have batted exceeding well. Their top order were brilliant with New Zealand who will bat last, have a strong defense in 2nd innings. India who will bowl last in this tournament have been successful in conditions that suited their bowlers. In the fourth innings they manage to dismiss 5 teams inside 60 odds overs!. However Rose Bowl, Southampton is not similar to those venues.
Hence it would interesting to know how many overs India will require on day 6 to pick all 10 wickets, and how much of a target they are going to ask New Zealand to chase.
Bowling analysis
In this WTC this would be one final act for both captains.