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Updated April 1st, 2021 at 19:53 IST

ICC World Test Championship final: Nathan Lyon backs NZ to beat India on THIS condition

Talking about the impending ICC World Test Championship final, Australia's Nathan Lyon revealed why he thinks NZ will come out on top in the encounter.

Reported by: Sharmistha More
ICC World Test Championship
ICC World Test Championship | Image:self
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India's path to the historic inaugural ICC World Test Championship 2021 final saw them conquer two of the world's highest-ranked Test sides in a span of just four months, from December 2020 to March 2021. The team's highly unlikely and heroic 2-1 win in their 4-Test series in Australia, followed by their 3-1 series win over England in India effectively ended the Aussies' hopes of setting up a World Test Championship 2021 final clash with their neighbours, New Zealand. Talking about the impending final, veteran Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon revealed who he thinks will come out on top in the encounter.

Nathan Lyon bets on New Zealand but with riders

While admitting that he would not be watching the  ICC World Test Championship 2021 final, Australia's Nathan Lyon revealed the specific set of circumstances under which he would back Kane Williamson and his New Zealand side at the WTC finals this summer. Set to be played from June 18-22 (with June 23 as a safety day), the location of the highly anticipated final has been shifted from its initial venue - the Lord's Cricket Ground, London - to the Rose Bowl, in Southampton due to COVID-19 protocols. 

With New Zealand becoming the first side into the final, India, England and Australia were engaged in a heated battle to join them. While England were defeated by India, the Aussies missed out on the second spot by just 0.8% owing to India's mammoth victory over England and due to a slow over-rate penalty they received during their Test against India at the MCG. In the end, India topped the points table with 72.2%, followed by New Zealand at 70.0%. 

Speaking on cricket.com.au's 'The Unplayable Podcast', Nathan Lyon said that while he believed India was the best team in the world, there was a chance that New Zealand could take the game away from Virat Kohli and co. Explaining this difference, Lyon clarified that while he did consider India the best team in the world at the moment, New Zealand's pace attack, and their swinging prowess could help them if the Test was played with the Dukes ball - the ball of choice in the UK and the West Indies. It is likely that Kohli and co. might not get much time to adapt in English conditions and play Test cricket again after coming from the IPL 2021.

Here's what the spinner had to say: 

“Not gonna watch [the WTC final]… I think the best team in the world is India. I was under the impression that the team that finishes on top chooses the ball. So if it was Australia vs New Zealand, we wouldn’t have picked the Dukes ball because of the quality of swing bowling in New Zealand. Its little things like that will play a massive role in the game. If they play with the Dukes ball New Zealand will come into play."

Image Credits: AP

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Published April 1st, 2021 at 19:52 IST

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