India vs New Zealand WTC 2021 Final: Virat Kohli led side to take on Kiwis TODAY, Check which side Sachin Tendulkar picked as his favourite, playing 11 and other updates

WTC India vs New Zealand 2021: Finally, the wait is over! Virat Kohli's men are set to take on the Kiwis in the final of the World Test Championship 2021at Southampton, starting today, June 18, 2021. For a cricket-loving nation like India, nothing calls for more celebration if the Men in Blue come out victorious in the inaugural session of the ICC WTC 2021. However, it has to be noted that there are certain challenges that the team in the clash against New Zealand due to the English conditions.

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Ahead of the contest Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar in an exclusive interview with Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary shed some light on India's chances and challenges the unit will face in their ultimate test in England. During the interaction, Tendulkar stated that the Kiwis have an advantage due to the time they spent in the country but once both the teams enter the field all that will matter is the next five days and how the team responds to the situation.

The Indian legend said, "Preparation wise, we are slightly behind as compared to New Zealand, but all these things are past and from June 18 only the next five days will matter. I will say all the eyeballs are on our team and what we do in these five days will always be remembered."

Yesterday, the playing 11 for India has also been announced. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has tweeted the playing 11 from its official Twitter handle. There have not been any surprises in the team. The playing 11 includes Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami.

Notably, in the WTC campaign, India has lost just one series, which came against New Zealand in early 2020. Kohli and his boys were outplayed by the Kiwis in the two-match series and ended up losing the contest 2-0. However, the recent performances of team India against Australia in Australia and against England at home certainly will boost the confidence of Virat Kohli and his men.

Talking about both the finalists, Master Blaster said: "It is an even contest as New Zealand is equally good, and both the sides have displayed some top performance, so they are the finalists." He further added, "But if I have to pick my favourite, it's obviously India and I hope that we win the World Test Championship finals."