Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is worried that India do not have enough match practice ahead of the crucial World Test Championship final against New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl starting Friday.
Pietersen feels that no amount of playing the IPL or intra-squad games can equal to preparing for a Test match with so much at stake. And with New Zealand having already beaten England for a series win last week, the job for India will become that bit tougher, reckons Pietersen.
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"New Zealand have had fantastic preparation for this World Test Championship final. They've played two Test matches against England, and basically outplayed them in both. You can't prepare for a Test match in England having been involved in an IPL that was called off a month ago and with no proper warm-up matches at all," Pietersen wrote in his blog for Betway Insider.
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{{/usCountry}}Besides, India do not have a record to brag about in England. They have lost their last three Test series in England by comprehensive margins – 0-4 in 2011, 1-3 in 2014 and 1-4 in 2018. With English conditions always proving challenging for Indian batsmen and their conditions being a lot similar to New Zealand at home, the task at hand certainly won't be an easy one for Virat Kohli's men. Add to that the fact that India haven't defeated New Zealand in an ICC event since 2003 makes it trickier.
"Their (New Zealand's) pace bowling against England was fantastic – Tim Southee at Lord’s and then Matt Henry, who probably won’t even play in this match, at Edgbaston. You only get one or two chances in a one-off Test match, and I fear that India may be behind on their preparation," Pietersen added.