Advertisment

WTC Final: India create unwanted records

Heartbreaks after Heartbreaks, New Zealand, one of the most underrated teams, reached as many as 14 semi-finals and finals over the years but only many managed to win one championship.

author-image
Sky247 Staff
New Update
Indian cricket team

Indian cricket team ( Image Credit: Twitter)

Heartbreaks after Heartbreaks, New Zealand, one of the most underrated teams, reached as many as 14 semi-finals and finals over the years but only managed to win one championship. But they were patient and knew their time will come. Then came the World Test Championship, the ultimate test. The Kiwis once again reached the finals. Against, a strong Indian side, it was never going to be easy. They dominated India for the most part of the match but rain threatened to shatter their hopes. On a sunny day at the Ageas Bowl, the match was heading towards a draw before the Kiwi bowlers went berserk and dismantled the Indian batting to set up a brilliant 8 wicket win.

Advertisment

Virat Kohli will be disappointed that he yet again failed to claim an ICC trophy. The loss meant that Kohli’s men created some unwanted records. Here’s a look at them.

Indian batsmen fail to score 50

The Kiwi bowlers were too hot to handle for the Indians as they didn’t allow a single Indian batsman to score a half-century in two completed innings. The highest score by an Indian was 49 by Ajinkya Rahane in the first inning. The last time India failed to register a single 50 in the match was against England at Lord's in 2018, and since then India had played 26 Tests till the WTC Final.

Advertisment

Kyle Jamieson dominates Virat Kohli

Kyle Jamieson accounted for Virat Kohli in both innings of the WTC final. This was the third instance of Jamieson dismissing Kohli in three Tests. New Zealand also have Tim Southee, who has dismissed Kohli on 10 occasions while Trent Boult and Neil Wagner have accounted for Kohli three times apiece.

NZ pacers hold sway

Advertisment

The Kiwis went with an all pace attack for the WTC final and picked all 20 Indian wickets. This was only the fourth instance when New Zealand played four seamers after Wellington and Hamilton (2002) and Auckland in 2014.

A streak to forget

Indian batters were dominated by the Kiwi bowlers. But this was not the first time. In fact, India have failed to post 250 in six consecutive innings against New Zealand. The streak started with the Wellington Test in 2020 and spilled over to Christchurch match the same year and to the WTC Final in Southampton. Consequently, India lost all the three games.

Cricket News India World Test Championship (2021-23)