WTC Final: Kohli eyes legacy, Kane prize for consistency

Southampton, Jun 17 (PTI): Virat Kohli carries the expectations of a billion while cricket romantics will pin their hopes on Kane Williamson when India and New Zealand engage in a battle to create a lasting legacy in pristine whites in the inaugural World Test Championship final starting here on Friday.
For the connoisseurs of the glorious game, Test cricket is the ultimate format and despite its aura, the 144-year-old history needed a facelift along with a context which the World Test Championship provided despite various bottlenecks, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Kohli, India’s most successful Test captain, a trophy-less cabinet doesn’t do justice to the champion performer that he has been for a decade. Lest one forgets, he has been a fine leader in his own right even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni may forever remain a sentimental favourite.
Kohli needs a global triumph. Every captain needs it but perhaps the Indian captain wants it more.
It’s how history will remember him just like it remembers Dhoni with a lot of respect and utmost fondness for those heroic World title wins. Williamson stands in his way with a bunch of fine cricketers and the most amiable set of players that one would come across in international cricket. They are India’s rivals but when Williamson hits those cover drives, Devon Conway teases a Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja, Trent Boult gets one banana inswinger aimed at Rohit Sharma’s bootlaces, the crazy fans of a cricket-mad nation wouldn’t possibly be able to hate them.
These are ‘Gentlemen Cricketers’ who have grown on the fans bit by bit with their cricket and their conduct. It’s difficult not to love them, especially after their gut-wrenching World Cup defeat at the Lord’s two summers back.
If Williamson happens to stand with the ICC Test Mace on the Hampshire Bowl balcony, one might just smile and think that perhaps “Nice guys don’t always finish last”.

Teams (from):

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk).
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (C), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner BJ Watling and Will Young.
On-field Umpires: Richard Illngworth, Michael Gough
Match Referee: Chris Broad
Match Starts: 3:30 pm IST.