Former Pakistan captain and a legend of the game Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed his disappointment at the nature of the pitch used in the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand.

In the summit clash played at Rose Bowl in Southampton, bowlers dominated and eventually New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets. Inzamam raised the same point and reckoned that the pitch wasn’t suitable for such a huge game as the bowlers dictated terms and batting was quite challenging.

“This Test match was six days long, and out of that, almost four days saw consistent rain, and still it got over within 2.5 days. No one mentioned that who gave the idea that such a pitch should be used for the World Test Championship final, where only the bowlers were visible, but the batting side went invisible?” said Inzamam on his YouTube channel.

“I don’t understand is that for such a big game, how can you prepare such a pitch,” he added.

Before the WTC final, many experts, including Indian head coach Ravi Shastri suggested that the next final of the WTC second cycle should have the best-of-three to decide the winner. Inzamam also shared his views on this topic, stating that two games should take place – one at home and the other in away conditions.

“My advice is that you make it two Tests, devise a points system, play one game in New Zealand or whoever is the finalist and the other in India. The result would have come out fairer in that case,” suggested the 51-year-old.

“If it were like the World Cup, where every match is played in the same country, including the final, then it was different. So, it is just my opinion that in the future, the finals should be on a home and away basis, hosted by both the finalists,” concluded Inzamam.

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The two-year search for World Champions in Test cricket finally came to an end after New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets in the World Tes?t Championship (WTC) final to lift the prestigious? trophy at Rose Bowl in Southampt??on on Wednesday (June 23).

New Zealand’s remarkable swing and seam attack inspired the Black Caps to register a memorable victory on the star-studded Virat Kohli-led Indian team. All-rounder Kyle Jamieson, who picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings and a couple of scalps in the second essay, was named ‘Player of the Match’.

Players from different teams dominated in the entire WTC cycle of 2019-21. Some batters showed top-class cricket with consistent performance, while some ruled the bowling charts. But who ended up as the number one amongst different categories? Let’s have a look at some of the most high-class performers:

Highest run-scorer: Marnus Labuschagne

Australian batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne exhibited top-of-the-line performance with utmost consistency?? in the WTC cycle. He play?ed 13 matches and scored 1675 runs at an impressive average of 72.82.

Highest wicket-taker: Ravichandran Ashwin

Although India ended up as the runners-up in the WTC final, but this two-year period has been phenomenal for Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. On the last day of the WTC final against New Zealand, Ashwin leapfrogged Pat Cummins t?o become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. The Tamil Nadu cricketer bagged 71 wickets from 14 ma?tches at an average of 20.33.

Most dismissals (wicketkeepers): Tim Paine

Australian Test captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine finished holds the record for the highest num??ber of dismissals by a wicketkeeper in the competition. Paine made 65 dismissals in 14 matches. He took 63 catches and a??ffected 2 stumpings.

Highest partnership (by runs): Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls

During a match against Pakistan at Christchurch in January earlier this year, Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls created a record of achieving the highest partn?ership in terms of runs in th?e WTC cycle. The pair added 369 runs for the fourth wicket. The Kiwi skipper scored 238 runs while Nicholls made 157 runs.

Most catches (non-wicketkeeper): Joe Root

England captain Joe Root ended the tournament as the leading catch taker. In 20 matches, the 30-year-old pl?ucked as many as 34 catches.

Most 100s/50s: Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne, who scored the most number of runs in the competition, is also the leading century and fifty hitters. He has smashed five ??hundreds and 14 fifty-plus scores.

Most five-wicket hauls: Kyle Jamieson

The ‘Player of the Match’ in the WTC final, Kyle Jamieson, surpassed Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon during the summit clash against India when he picked up his fifth five-wicket hau?l. Both?? Ashwin and Lyon had taken four fifers.

Most sixes: Ben Stokes

England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes is the leading six-hitter in the tournament. In 17 matches, Stokes man??aged to hit 31 sixes.

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