Senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara still feels the sting of last year\u2019s drubbing in New Zealand but the batsman says India will be a different proposition when the sides clash again at the neutral venue of Southampton in next month\u2019s World Test Championship (WTC) final.
\nIndia were blanked 2-0 in New Zealand, who are already quarantining in Southampton and will play a two-Test series against England before the WTC final at the Ageas Bowl from June 18.
\n\u201cWhen we played the Kiwis in 2020, it was in their backyard,\u201d Pujara told Times of India newspaper. \u201cThat won\u2019t be the case in the WTC final … it\u2019s a neutral venue for both the teams. None of the teams will have a home advantage.\u201d
\nAs India\u2019s top-order bulwark, Pujara will be expected to tame New Zealand\u2019s formidable pace attack and the 33-year-old right-hander said he and his team-mates were ready for the challenge.
\n\u201cTheir bowling attack is very well-balanced. We have faced their bowlers before and have a fair idea of how they operate, the angles they use, and we will be prepared.\u201d
\nAfter the final, India will play a five-Test series against Joe Root\u2019s side and Pujara was confident the tourists could win their first Test series in England since 2007.
\nPart of that belief stems from India\u2019s bench strength, which he felt was the best he had seen in the past decade.
\n\u201cThe amount of talent in the Indian circuit is humongous,\u201d Pujara said, recalling how the injury-ravaged side triumphed 2-1 in Australia earlier this year. \u201cThe Australia series earlier this year was an example. We had so many injuries, but the backup options did well for us to win the series.
\n\u201cEveryone in this Indian team is hungry to do well and that\u2019s the sign of a good side,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara still feels the sting of last year\u2019s drubbing in New Zealand but the batsman says India will be a different proposition when the sides clash again at the neutral venue of Southampton in next month\u2019s World Test Championship (WTC) final. India were blanked 2-0 in New Zealand, who are already quarantining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n