World Cup Final
It's time to move forward from the WTC defeat. In my pre-match analysis of the teams, I had said that New Zealand had a slight edge, because: 1. Their openers were better equipped to bat out England 2. Their pace attack was comparatively better. To add to this, New Zealand had a two-test warm-up series in England. This helped them get acclimatized and discover their best combination for the final. The only area where India had the clear advantage was in the spin department. Ashwin and Jadeja were far better than Ajaz Patel, the Mumbai-born left arm spinner who plays for Yorkshire. But the rain, the weather and the pitch ensured that they had minimal impact. Ashwin did take 4 wickets in the match, but Jadeja went wicketless. New Zealand did not even bother to include Patel in the playing XI. One more thing which went against India is Bumrah's lack of luck or form. He had not been that effective after his back surgery. In the final, he didn't take a sin...