WTC final: Rishabh Pant, Trent Boult and Cheteshwar Pujara name their favourite Test venues

In any sport, there are certain stadiums that bring the best out of the players. For instance, every time Rohit Sharma walks out to bat at the Eden Gardens, there is always a sense of good feeling which he carries just because of the number of runs he has scored at the venue in the past. Ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final, the players of the India and New Zealand team sat down to reveal some of their favourite stadiums. 

First, in line, it was Shubman Gill, the young Indian opener, who chose Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as his favourite venue, because that is where he made his Test debut. Ishant Sharma, the senior pro, expressed that the venues don’t matter for him. He suggested that he just likes wearing the whites and walking out in the middle playing for his country. 

Jasprit Bumrah chose the Wanderer’s in Johannesburg as his favourite. “I just played one game there and I would like to play some more,” Bumrah said. He picked up his first five-for in Test cricket in Johannesburg in a memorable win for the Indian team back in 2018. Rishabh Pant, then revealed that his favourite is the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and reasoned it by adding that his highest score of 159 not out came at that venue. 

Lord’s on the list of some of the New Zealand players

Ravichandran Ashwin mentioned his home ground, M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai as his favorutie, while also touching upon MCG, which was the venue for his first-ever away Test. Cheteshwar Pujara revealed that one venue in India, which he likes playing at is MA Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, a venue where he has some fond memories and also made his Test debut. 

Next, Colin de Grandhomme was seen suggesting that the grass embankments and the atmosphere of Bay Oval of Mount Maunganui, Tauranga is something special. BJ Watling had a similar opinion but also revealed that Lord’s and the Basin Reserve in Wellington as two of his other favourites. Tim Southee, who recently picked up a six-for at Lords chose the Home of Cricket as his favourite venue. 

Trent Boult is seen next in the video remarking, “Mine is a little weird.” He took the name of the Adelaide Oval, reasoning that the atmosphere of the maiden day-night Test in 2015 was one of the key factors in his selection. “Good atmosphere, good hype and yes a lot of good history,” Boult said.