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India's men of steel Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane bracing for World Test Championship final

India’s mainstays in Test cricket—Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who have played a pivotal role in their journey over the last several years have already made their ‘special’ feeling about the World Test Championship.

Now, as they are preparing for one final contest to conquer the final frontier of New Zealand in the final, both opened up on the context of the Test Championship in terms of their career and the role it had played on the overall state of the game.

Pujara said that the WTC final would mean ‘a lot’ to him as he has not been part of any other Indian team and that it is the only opportunity for him to taste success in a global tournament.

“Personally, it means a lot to me because I am playing this one format and it is the most challenging format in cricket. So yeah, it means a lot and we have worked really hard as a team for over a period of time to reach here. So, I am sure all the guys are looking forward to his final and winning this final will mean a lot for us,” Pujara said in a video tweeted out by the host broadcaster of the WTC final, Star Sports.

On the other hand, India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who led the side to a heroic series win in Australia in face of severe adversity, said the Test Championship has reignited the meaning of bilateral series across the world. He said that the men in blue have been at their ‘best’ over the last couple of years to reach this far in the competition.

“It was not easy as in Test cricket you need to be at your best every day but we have played consistently well for over two years and the result is that we have reached the final of the World Test Championship. The Championship has made the game competitive as before it one could have come back in the series after sling the first game but the point system makes every innings and games important,” Rahane said in the video.

The World Test Championship final will commence on June 18 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and the onus of giving India a perfect platform and a strong finish will once again be on the shoulders of Pujara and Rahane.

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PSL 2021 | MS vs PSZ: Pumped up Peshawar ready to face the Sultans from Multan

With big victories in their previous encounters, Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans get ready to fight it out in the second game of the doubleheaders day in the Pakistan Super League. On a Sunday, there could be nothing as mouthwatering as watching the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw and Shimron Hetmyer handle the bat against the bowling of the likes of Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir and Imran Tahir. Both the teams might be coming from great wins over Karachi and Quetta, but there are issues that need to be addressed if they want to go ahead in the competitions and be a challenge to the likes of Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United. Zalmi bowling attack is lopsided Zalmi might have stopped Quetta at 136 in their previous game, but there is no denying the fact that they are missing the fifth bowler in an attempt to make the batting lineup long. In their game against Qalandars, they were caught napping on that front as their fifth bowling combination of Shoaib Malik and Fabian Allen conceded 44 runs in four overs. Basically, they don’t have a quality spinner in their ranks and with a pace heavy attack, they won’t be going very far in this competition. Although there is Waqar Salamkheil, the Afghan chinaman and Abrar Ahmad the Pakhtunkhwah leggies, but both of them have not been tested at the highest level. So against a batting heavy team like Multan Sultans, the Zalmis might just miss a trick by not having a quality spinner in their armoury. Sultans don't bat deep Although the quality of batters in the Multan lineup is great. They are dependable and on their day could single-handedly win the game. But in total, they are just six, including the wicket-keeper. Sohail Tanvir batting at number seven is an indication of the fact that the lower order is not batting friendly. If it so happens that Sultans lose all their six batman before the death over, then who would capitalise? Such a situation almost occurred in their last game against the Karachi Kings when Khushdil Shah had to bat it out along with Tanvir. But if Khushdil had also got out, what would have been the consequences? So both the teams have strengths and weaknesses too, it would come down to which team exploits others’ weakness and which team can overpower that weakness with their strength. Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi: Match Details Match Number- 21 Date and Time: June 13th 2021, 11:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm GMT, 10:00 pm Local Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Liv Pitch Report The dew is getting heavier by the day in Abu Dhabi and it is making batting in the second innings predominantly easy. There is obviously some purchase in the first innings for the bowlers, if they hit the right areas, be it spinner or fast bowler. Similarly, for a batsman, if they are willing to spend some time in the middle and wait for the right kind of deliveries to attack, there are ample opportunities to score runs. Weather and Toss With temperature hovering in the lower thirties and 65% humidity in the air, heavy dew is expected at the Sheikh Zayed Arena. Any team winning the toss would choose to bowl without any doubt. Team News Multan Sultans Sohail Tanvir was limping during the game after a yorker from Mohammad Amir crushed his legs. The left-arm unorthodox pacer struggled a lot to even complete his full quota of overs. Other than his fitness being a cause of worry there doesn’t seem to be any reason for changing the winning combination. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hetmyer didn’t fire and a lot was expected of them, still, they would be given a few more chances before any decision is taken. Probable XI Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shimron Hetmyer, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dhani, Imran Khan Peshawar Zalmi The Zalmi team could introduce a proper spinner in place of Fabian Allen as even Wahab Riaz can hit a few in the later phase of the innings and so can Umaid Asif. Having Allen makes no sense in that case. However, since he is a natural wicket-taker and the team is winning, expecting a chance for Salamkheil in such a situation would be difficult. Probable XI Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz (c), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan Dream XI / Fantasy XI Predictions Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Haider Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Shimron Hetmyer, David Miller, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dhani, Mohammad Irfan