Sourav Ganguly said that New Zealand will take a lot of confidence in the fact that they beat England in their own backyard despite missing a number of key players in the second Test

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ganguly said that New Zealand will take a lot of confidence from their series win over England
• New Zealand beat England 1-0 in a two-Test series which ended on June 13
• Ganguly said that New Zealand looked solid in the series despite the absence of key players in the second Test

New Zealand will have a slight advantage compared to India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final because they played and beat England in a two-Test series before the historic one-off Test, former India captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has said. New Zealand beat England 1-0 in a two-Test series which ended on June 13.

“New Zealand will have a slight advantage because they have played in these conditions and beat England in their own backyard, which is not easy at all. This was a big series for NZ, they just look so solid. New Zealand won the 2nd Test at Edgbaston without Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, who have been big players for them in the WTC,” Ganguly told Aaj Tak on eSalaamCricket.

“That’s why I think the England series win was worth its weight in gold for New Zealand. Their bowling attack had the likes of Matt Henry, Trent Boult came back, Neil Wagner was there. Will Young made a great debut at Edgbaston, he played a really good knock in the 1st innings against a good England attack,” said Ganguly.

However, the former batsman also said that both teams have to remember that they would be starting on an even footing in the WTC final. The match will be played at the Ageas Bowl from Friday.

The England Test series win will give New Zealand a lot of confidence. But New Zealand and India will have to remember that they will begin on the same platform when they take the field for the WTC Final in Southampton. India did not play any warm-up matches, they went to England straight from the IPL so it will take a bit of time for them to settle down to the conditions but I think it will be a great contest because both teams are heavyweights,” said Ganguly.