India vs New Zealand WTC final: Kapil Dev bats for best of three World Test Championship finals to determine the winner

India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said he would have preferred a best of three final to determine the winner of the World Test Championship. India and New Zealand are set to square off in the first-ever WTC final starting from June 18 in Southampton, England.

“I would have preferred more than just one match to decide such an important title. Of course, these days it is not a big thing to prepare for a match. It helps to play a few matches in those conditions but that can’t be an excuse,” Kapil told Midday.

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Further commenting on his argument for a best of three finals, Kapil said WTC is a good step from the ICC to popularise Test cricket.

“It is something the ICC has done to popularise Test matches. There will be good cricket for the public, I am sure. I feel three-Test finals would have been great,” the legendary all-rounder added.

The WTC final was originally slated to take place at Lord’s but it was later shifted to Southampton as the hotel inside the ground makes it easier to maintain the bio-bubble. Kapil said Lord's would have been a great venue for the final due to its history.

"Maybe, Lord’s would have a better venue than Rose Bowl because the ground has great history. Even Manchester [Old Trafford] would have been a good choice but there is something about celebrating a win at Lord’s,” said Kapil who had become the first Indian captain to lift the World Cup at the Lord’s balcony.

Both India and New Zealand are blessed with some of the best batsmen and bowlers in the longest format of the game. Asked to the name favourite to win the title, Kapil said India’s ‘superior’ batting holds the key. It will be interesting to see how they handle the conditions.

“I won’t say batsmen are better than the bowlers. You have to have a balance. India look a superior batting side. How they tackle the conditions is important. To me, India’s batting will hold the key. The bowlers provide a solid back-up to India’s cricket campaigns these days but the quality of batsmen will stand out in the final,” he added.