Getty India captain Virat Kohli.
India and New Zealand will play for the inaugural International Cricket Council World Test Championship title at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, England, from June 18-22.
In the United States, the match (June 18-22, 5:30 a.m. ET start time each day) will be televised on Willow TV, but if you don’t have cable or don’t have that channel, you can watch a live stream via either ESPN+ or Sling TV.
Here’s a complete rundown of how you can watch India vs New Zealand live streaming online in the US:
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ESPN+
If you live in the United States, you can watch India vs New Zealand on ESPN+ (English and Hindi broadcasts both available) right here:
ESPN+ has coverage of dozens of world cricket series throughout the year, as well as many other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month, which works out to over 30 percent savings:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch India vs New Zealand live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Sling TV
Willow TV and Willow Extra are both included in Sling TV’s “Willow Cricket” channel package, which costs just $5 for your first month:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch India vs New Zealand live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
India vs New Zealand Preview
The Men in Blue visited New Zealand for a WTC series back in February and March of 2020. The Blackcaps took both matches, by 10 and 7 wickets, respectively, behind a sterling effort from Tim Southee.
The medium-fast bowler took a series-high 14 wickets, while New Zealand batsman Tom Latham led all participants with 122 runs.
“They’ve got a fantastic set of bowlers, a lot of quality batsmen that have scored runs in different conditions all round the world,” Latham said Monday, according to Cricbuzz. “They were over here a few years ago and played really well, so we know we’ll have to play well to beat them. Even though the preparation has been great over the last two weeks, it’s important that we do shift our focus and adapt to a completely different side.”
Latham’s comments came after his side bested England by 8 wickets to take a 1-0 victory in a two-match test series. The squads played to a rain-induced draw a week earlier at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London before moving to Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium, where the Blackcaps clinched their first test series victory over England in England in 22 years.
Devon Conway led New Zealand’s attack, racking up a series-high 306 runs.
“For us to come here and put a performance on the board that was true to us was really important,” Latham said, per Cricbuzz. “It was about trying to do what we do really well and I thought we did fantastically well over the four days. It’s well documented that ’99 was the last time we’d won here and we have been here a couple of times over the recent years and haven’t quite got the rewards. For us to come here and play a good brand of cricket was outstanding. It’s certainly an achievement that’s worth celebrating.”
Unlike the Blackcaps, the Men in Blue won’t have the benefit of a warmup fixture. Before arriving in England on June 3, they spent two weeks quarantining in Mumbai.
“It is (a disadvantage), but this is something we can’t control,” Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said Tuesday, according to ESPNcricinfo. “These are challenging times in the world because of the pandemic, and you can’t have the luxury for extra preparation time. But the most important part is the game is still going on and that we’re playing a final.
“Yes, preparation time is a bit of a disadvantage maybe, but if you’re ready for the challenge, even if circumstances aren’t favourable, you’d do well. We’re confident as a team. Maybe a few extra days of preparation would’ve helped, but we can’t complain. We’re ready.”