The World Test Championship is in its home stretch with India and New Zealand set to fight it out in the final at Southampton from 18 June. Having kicked off in 2019 after the ODI World Cup in England, the WTC was expected to throw up some riveting contests between old foes before the summit clash.
The Championship started off in glorious fashion with the Ashes and the games between Sri Lanka and New Zealand before India joined the mix in West Indies. While the WTC’s initial games promised plenty of action for the later stages, the coronavirus pandemic had other ideas, cutting short the campaign for a few, as ICC were forced to redo their plans.
Off the 9 Test-playing nations, India (17) and England (21) played the most while NZ (11) were involved in fewer Tests during their campaign.
India played West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, NZ, Australia, and England in the WTC on their way to the final, winning all but one series.
India in West Indies: 2-0 (Final Test not part of WTC)
Right after the World Cup in England, the Virat Kohli-led India started their journey in scintillating fashion in the Caribbean Islands.
Pace ace Jasprit Bumrah registered a couple of five-wicket hauls in either Test, while Ishant Sharma added one to his name against WI. Among the batters the likes of Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane were the stars for the visitors scoring some big runs along the way in the first two Tests.
Both batters got a century each, Vihari in the first Test and Rahane in the second, as India coasted to victory by 257 runs and 318 runs in the two games. Kohli chipped in with a couple of half centuries and a first ball duck in Jamaica as the visitors made light work of their opposition.
India vs South Africa: 3-0
Kohli’s side were back home from the Caribbean and up next were the not-so-mighty Proteas, whom they outclassed in the three Tests in Vizag, Pune, and Ranchi.
Rohit Sharma scored a couple of centuries and Mayank Agarwal scored a double hundred, R Ashwin bagged a seven-wicket haul and Mohammed Shami picked five in the second innings to lead the hosts to a resounding 203-run win in Vizag.
India continued to build on the momentum as Kohli got into the act with an unbeaten 254 before an all-round effort from the bowlers. Mayank, too, pitched in with a century, cementing his place along side Rohit for the foreseeable future as India rolled off a win by an innings and 132 runs.
In Ranchi, home to the inimitable MS Dhoni, Rohit put on another show with a first innings double ton along with a century from Rahane, setting up a comprehensive win by an innings and 203 runs, putting well and truly in command of their WTC campaign.
India vs Bangladesh: 2-0
India welcomed neighbours Bangladesh after the South Africa series and also played their first-ever Pink-ball Test in Kolkata at the Eden Gardens. A rampant home side proved too much for the visitors, who did not win any game in the WTC.
India won both Tests by an innings and 46 runs and 130 runs respectively, with Kolkata seeing plenty of concussion subs for the visitors, who found Mohammed Shami a bit too hot to handle. In the first in Indore, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli led the charge for India.
India vs New Zealand: 0-2
A confident India were keen to continue the momentum in the picturesque New Zealand but were handed quite the reality check by Kane Williamson’s men.
India managed only one score of above 200 in the two-match Test series as the Kiwis steamrolled them in Wellington and Christchurch, winning by 10 and 7 wickets respectively. Runs were hard to come by for India’s famed batting lineup as the likes of Tim Southee, in Wellington, and Kyle Jamieson, in Christchurch, ripped through the batters.
India’s batters managed a total of four half-centuries in the two Tests with Virat Kohli unable to get going either.
Humbled, India were going to have to iron out their flaws soon. However, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the world of sports, like everything else was brought to a screeching halt. For India, the next red-ball assignments would be their tour to Australia before a visit from England in 2020.
India vs Australia: 2-1
There has been plenty written and said about the Australian tour of 2020/21. From the nightmare in Adelaide to the highs of conquering Gabba, India led by Kohli first, and then by Rahane pulled off a series win that will forever be remembered fondly.
It all started off in Adelaide with the Pink-ball Test where India, needing to bat well on Day 3, were rolled for 36 on the third morning. A shell-shocked India then bid good bye to Kohli, who was leaving for paternity leave, with the Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and the Gabba Tests yet to be played.
Rahane and India dug deep, using almost all their resources, ringing in the changes for Melbourne. The skipper led from the front while Bumrah, Ashwin, debutant Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with significant contributions to restore parity. 36 and Adelaide seemed a fair bit in the distance at the time.
Sydney then tested India to the limit as they took one body blow after the other, eventually though doing enough to not concede ground. While Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne troubled India in the field, incidents of racism and unwanted banter from the home team skipper, too, left the visitors annoyed, making them more determined to not give in. The bowling unit ensured Australia would not take the game away before Ashwin and Vihari batted heroically through immense pain to save the game on the final day, taking matters to the Gabba, much like Tim Paine wanted.
At the Gabba, a young bowling attack, led by Siraj, who debuted in Melbourne, fought fire with fire. T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, and Siraj made their chances count before Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant displayed immense maturity, playing match-winning knocks on the final day against a hostile pace attack. Pant batted with the tail as everyone put a price on their wicket, resulting in one of Indian cricket’s finest moments.
India vs England: 3-1
Back from Australia, India were boosted by the return of Virat Kohli in what was Jasprit Bumrah’s first Test series at home. Faced with the might of Joe Root and James Anderson and the surprise package that was Dom Bess in the first Test in Chennai the hosts were handed a 227-run defeat. While Root played a sublime knock for his double hundred, Anderson’s fourth innings spell set up the win for the visitors.
India roared back as R Ashwin turned on the style with both bat and ball, scoring a century and picking 8 wickets alongside debutant Axar Patel, who picked 7 in the game. On a spinner’s paradise, India’s bowlers were more effective than Moeen Ali and Jack Leach, setting up a 317-run win.
The teams moved to Ahmedabad after that and the theme was similar with India’s spinners outclassing the English batters, who apart from Root, were all at sea against the dominant hosts. While Axar Patel finished with 10+ wickets in the game, Root, too, picked a five-wicket haul as the 3rd Test finished in under 2 days.
Axar was at it again a few days later, leaving English batters scarred as he led the charge for the spinners, rolling over the visitors with ease. Rishabh Pant scored a century and Washington Sundar almost got his maiden ton, too, but was left stranded on 96 as England surrendered meekly, and India booked their flight to England for the WTC Final against New Zealand.
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