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.
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.
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.
