Why WTC champions tag is not a yardstick to define the journey of Virat Kohli's Indian Test side

World Test Championship final: Winning or losing the one-off Test against New Zealand in Southampton is certainly not going to change the fact that India have been playing a terrific brand of Test cricket that makes for an edge-of-the-seat viewing experience.

On the eve of the World Test Championship final, when Virat Kohli addressed the press, he was keen on playing down the hype around what is being billed as the 'ultimate Test'. On several occasions during his interaction with the media, Kohli kept stressing that the first-of-its-kind finale was not the biggest in his decorated career. SEE. YOU. TOMORROW! #TeamIndia #WTC21 Final pic.twitter.com/7KwUMDGg4t NEWSHere's #TeamIndia's Playing XI for the #WTC21 Final pic.twitter.com/DiOBAzf88h Dealing with pressure is an important part of being an elite athlete and one can argue that Kohli was playing down the importance of the contest to make sure India aren't overwhelmed by the sense of occasion. After all, for the first time in its 144-year history, Test cricket will have a newly-crowned champion after a title match. On top of that, Kohli has not managed to win an ICC title at the senior level as captain despite being a superstar of the sport. The WTC was introduced to add context to Test matches and help improve the format's dipping popularity. Despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and much-talked-about issues with its format, the WTC final is being looked at as a significant moment in the history of the sport.