Team India ended the inaugural World Test Championship cycle as runners-up after being defeated by New Zealand in the final at Ageas Bowl. Despite topping the points table, India couldn’t cross the final hurdle against New Zealand and lost the game by eight wickets.
“Not just the final, we saw the determination of players throughout the first edition of the championship. The following of cricket lovers too was great to see, and I am sure they will all be waiting eagerly for the second edition,” said Virat Kohli.
India will kick-off the second WTC cycle with the five-match series against England, scheduled to start from August 4 in Nottingham.
“We will regroup with new energy for the next cycle starting with our series against England, hoping to give our fans a lot to cheer about,” Kohli added.
England missed the berth of the WTC final after losing the Test series in India by 3-1. However, they will try to turn the tide in the second cycle when they will play India next month, which England skipper Joe Root sees as an interesting challenge.
“We start our campaign in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship against the finalists of last time, which is an interesting challenge straight away,” said England captain Root.
“India is a fine all-round side and it would be good to test them in our home conditions. We narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final last time and are looking to do better this time.
“Test cricket is a format we all want to excel in and with points at stake for each match, everyone has to be at their best all the time,” Root further added.
ICC has announced that every team will get 12 points for a win irrespective of the number of matches in the series during the second cycle of WTC.
Earlier, a total of 120 points were up for grab during any WTC series and the team could manage to grab all the points by playing short series, which put the team’s playing big series in a tricky situation. Although, the percentage of points won will still determine the leaders of the table.
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