IND vs NZ: Will be wary of Rishabh Pant in WTC final, says NZ bowling coach

New Zealand will be wary of the danger that Rishabh Pant poses when they face India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, said the team's bowling coach Shane Jurgensen.

India play New Zealand in the inaugural WTC title from June 18 to 22 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

"Well, Pant is an extremely dangerous player who can change the game on its head. We saw how well he did it against Australia and England. He's extremely positive-minded, but with that comes potentially the opportunity to take his wicket," Jurgensen told The Telegraph.

Pant shook off the bad form he went through in 2020 during India's tour of Australia, in which he played an integral role in his team recording a second consecutive Test series win Down Under, despite the absence of a number key players. He has scored 515 runs in six Tests at an average of 64.37 this year.

"Our bowlers need to execute well, stay calm and make it as difficult as possible for Pant to score runs. He's certainly a free-flowing batsman and a tough one to stop, which we should keep in mind," said Jurgensen.

Jurgensen also noted that India's bowling attack too poses a big threat.

"It's a challenging bowling attack that India have. A lot of options are available for them. It'll be a very, very stiff challenge we could face from (Jasprit) Bumrah to Shardul (Thakur), who's an all-rounder and has done well in Australia too. There's Mohammed Siraj and even their spinners, who can spin it both ways. It's a group of formidable, outstanding Test bowlers," he said.

--IANS

rkm/akm