WTC Final | Toss will be key, New Zealand can’t afford to let India post big score, claims Shane Bond

Wickets back in New Zealand are one of a kind, and the Kiwis’ modus operandi back home, across the past half a decade, has been to bowl teams out cheaply in the first innings when the pitch is still spicy. The New Zealand batters are also adept at tackling tricky day one condition, but the Blackcaps, more often than not, have swayed towards bowling first when given a chance, as they did in each of the two Tests against India last year. 

"...if New Zealand win the toss and bowl as well as they have. I think they'll bowl out India cheaply and that ain't a bad thing.  The risk is if they (NZ) don't bowl them out, India have got two world class spinners and are right in the game. So, it's the toss that is going to be huge. And that first innings is going to be huge," he added.

"I think New Zealand are going to win. Game practices are going to have a massive impact. I think India have got a balanced bowling attack. I think they'll play three seamers and two spinners," Bond said.

Bond is, incidentally, a long-term bowling coach of the Mumbai Indians franchise, and the 46-year-old oversaw both Trent Boult and Rohit Sharma as recently as two months ago, in India during IPL 2021. The former pacer narrated a funny incident involving the duo, at the Mumbai Indians nets, and asserted that he was itching to see the duo go face-to-face with each other in Southampton come Friday.

"He goes out as he did against England earlier this year, he imposes himself, he is dynamic and he can score pretty quickly. He can take the game away in one hour, batting at the top of the order suits him, if he scores fast, it instantly puts pressure on the bowling attack. I cannot wait for the battle between Boult and Rohit. I am expecting to see few smiles between the guys as well.”