WTC Final: New Zealand won't be haunted by 2019 World Cup final loss, says Kane Williamson

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has said his side has moved on from the heartbreaking loss in the 2019 World Cup final to England and will not carry any scar into the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The top two Test teams, India and New Zealand are set to face off in the WTC final, starting June 18 at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.

As Williamson is once again chasing his first-ever ICC trophy, he has assured that the anguish from two years ago did not torment the BlackCaps.

"No, I do not think so, certainly not something that the guys have spoken about," Williamson told the International Cricket Council (ICC), pointing out that "a different side" would be playing a "different format" at the Rose Bowl.

"The focus is definitely on the transition from not playing much cricket or from where the guys who have played white-ball cricket to just change into that test format. The match ... was a very memorable one and obviously, it had some controversy, and it had everything, and people loved watching it at the end of the day. That is why people got a lot out of it," he further added in the interview with ICC.

New Zealand lost the World Cup final at Lord's in 2019 after the hosts were crowned champions through a controversial boundary-count rule, which has since been scrapped by the international cricket body after the final ended in a tie even after a Super Over.

While Williamson is yet to win an ICC trophy as a player, New Zealand have not won an ICC trophy since their victory in the inaugural ICC Knockout Trophy, which was later renamed as ICC Champions Trophy. Interestingly, the BlackCaps had defeated India to claim their maiden ICC title.

On being asked what would winning the WTC final mean to the New Zealand national team, Williamson responded," Oh yeah, it is something new and different. They have looked to bring about more context to the Test format and I think we saw it at the end of the competition, teams trying to push their case for qualifying which made way for a lot of exciting results. We saw in Australia, in New Zealand, a lot of teams had a chance to get through.

I thought it proved to be great adding that context and for us to see ourselves in the position we are in the finals now. It is exciting. We are looking forward to that when we are taking on the top-rank side in the world. We know how strong they are and the depth they have. So exciting to be playing against each other at a neutral venue."

Starting from the Under-19s and then the senior sides, Williamson and India captain Virat Kohli has played against each other quite a few times.

Speaking about their rivalry, the Kiwi captain said," Yeah, hard case. Over the years, we have played against each other in so many different levels and competitions and have known each other fairly well. So, it will be quite cool walking out there, doing the toss and having a bit of contact in the first Test Championship Final."