The ICC World Test Championship 2021 final between India and New Zealand at Southampton is the first Test match to be played at a neutral venue.
This is the sixth time that England is hosting a Test match for two other national teams. Australia played five Tests, three against South Africa in 1912 and two against Pakistan in 2020 in England as a neutral venue.
This is India’s first Test match to be played at a neutral venue.
New Zealand played six Test matches, all against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, before this one, winning three, losing two and drawing one.
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Virat Kohli became the first captain to lead India in a Test match at a neutral venue, while New Zealand have two captains – Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson – who have led New Zealand in Tests at a neutral venue.
This is the fourth Test match for New Zealand under Williamson at a neutral venue. He became the first New Zealand skipper to lead at a neutral venue in four Test matches.
The 62-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill was the 28th fifty-plus opening stand for India against New Zealand in Tests.
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Cheteshwar Pujara faced 35 runs before scoring his first run. It was his second-longest wait for his first run in Tests, after Johannesburg Test against South Africa in 2018. Then, he faced 54 balls to score his first run.
