The Virat Kohli-led side is all set to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18-22. The Indian side has reached the venue and checked into Hilton at The Ageas Bowl hotel where they will undergo quarantine.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis are already in England and are currently playing the first of two Test matches. However, Kohli isn't too concerned about the limited preparation time that his team will get for the WTC final as he believes that it has the requisite understanding of conditions from its past experience of playing in England.
"...look, in the past we have landed in places three days prior even in a proper schedule and have had a hell of a series and hell of competition, so it is all in the head," Kohli said. "...it is not the first time we are playing in England, we all know what the conditions are like," he said. "And even if you are used to the conditions, if you don't enter the field in the right frame of mind, you are going to nick that first ball or you are going to find it tough to pick wickets," he added.
According to Kohli, his side would not have any issues even if it gets just four practice sessions. "...we don't have any issues even with four practice sessions heading into the game, because we are absolutely sure of what we can do as a team and we all have played in England...we are not bothered at all and we just want to get there and make the most of the opportunity at hand," he said.
On the other hand, the Kane Williamson-led side will have the upper hand going into the WTC final as they will get accustomed to the English conditions after playing two Test matches prior to it. Also, the English conditions are not entirely different from that in New Zealand, which gives the Kiwis an edge over India.
Former Australian pacer Brett Lee thinks the two sides are "pretty evenly matched", however, he adds the experience of New Zealand because they have bowled in conditions which are similar back home will help them. “It may be conducive to fast bowling, to swing bowling. So that is where I think that the Kiwis might have an advantage purely from that fact," he said. "Now from a batting point of view, both sides have got batsmen that can play against swing bowling. But I think it comes down to bowling. I think whichever team bowls best will win the final," Lee added.
Here is India's ideal playing XI:
1. Rohit Sharma
2. KL Rahul (is likely to be preferred over Shubman Gill)
3. Chetestwar Pujara
4. Virat Kohli
5. Ajinkya Rahane
6. Rishabh Pant
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Shardul Thakur (is likely to get an opportunity over R Ashwin purely due to the English conditions)
9. Ishant Sharma
10. Mohammed Shami (is likely to be preferred over Mohammed Siraj due to his experience)
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Here is New Zealand's ideal playing XI:
1. Tom Latham
2. Devon Conway
3. Kane Williamson
4. Ross Taylor
5. Henry Nicholls
6. BJ Watling
7. Colin de Grandhomme
8. Mitchell Santner
9. Kyle Jamieson
10. Tim Southee
11. Trent Boult