WTC Final: Rishabh Pant, Ravi Ashwin, BJ Watling and other players reveal their favourite Test cricketers

India and New Zealand are battling it out in arguably the most high-octane Test match ever, the ICC World Test Championship final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. While the Day 1 of the summit clash got entirely washed out due to rain, fans witnessed a fascinating contest on the second day. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson didn’t have any hesitation in opting to bowl first after winning the toss with the track having assistance for fast bowlers.

However, the Indian batsmen showed great temperament and made the contest ever more fascinating. While the Kiwi pacers exploited swing and bounce from the surface, Virat Kohli’s men showed how to bat in these conditions. Overall, it was a great exhibition of Test cricket, and the battle between the bat and ball showed why the longest format of the game is the litmus test for every player.

It is also evident players of both camps have admiration for the purest format of the game. The same can be seen in a video shared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on June 20 (Sunday). In the clip, several Indian and Kiwi players revealed their favourite Test cricketers. While Rishabh Pant chose legendary wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, Jasprit Bumrah went with talismanic pacer Glenn McGrath.

Sachin Tendulkar emerges as a popular choice

Colin de Grandhomme idolised Andre Symonds and Neil Wagner’s hero was Allan Donald. On expected lines, the popular choice was Sachin Tendulkar. Cheteshwar Pujara, BJ Watling, Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin picked the Indian batting juggernaut as their favourite Test player, highlighting how the Master Blaster inspired them.

Adam Gilchrist, Allan Donald, Sachin, Sachin and Sachin 😅

The @BLACKCAPS and @BCCI stars reveal their favourite Test players.#WTC21 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/hwZVezfbMf

— ICC (@ICC) June 20, 2021

Meanwhile, India were 146/3 at stumps on Day 2, with skipper Virat Kohli (44) and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane (29) being the two batsmen at the crease. Although Kohli and his men are in a comfortable position, they still have a job in hand. The ball is getting purchase from the track, and the swinging red cherry is never delightful for any batter.

Hence, fans must gear as some exciting contest is on their way. However, one should not forget about the weather factor. Rain has already spoiled a significant part of the game, and it would be interesting to see how the rest of the days pan out.