Picture Credit: X/@ICC
New Zealand went on to become the inaugural champions of the World Test Championship (WTC) after they defeated India on the sixth day of the final in Southampton on June 23, 2021. After two years of the first-ever WTC cycle from 2019 to 2021, India and New Zealand became the two sides to lock horns in the title clash at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18 to 22 with June 23rd as reserve day.
New Zealand, who suffered a heart–breaking defeat in the 2019 ODI World Cup final against England, finally ended their 21-year-long wait to win an ICC title after 2000. On the other hand, India fell short of another title after their triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy. The match went down to the sixth day as it was mostly interrupted due to rain and New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets by chasing a target of 139 on the third session.
Kyle Jamieson’s match-winning spell guided New Zealand to WTC 2019-21 title
Talking about the match, batting first, India were bowled out for 217 runs in the first innings. Ajinkya Rahane was top-scorer with 49(117) runs while skipper Virat Kohli contributed with 44(132) runs. For New Zealand, fast bowler Kyle Jamieson turned out to be a star performer with the figures of 5/31. Apart from that, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult took two wickets each while Tim Southee put one in his bag. In reply, New Zealand posted 249 runs taking a lead of 32 runs in the first innings.
Devon Conway top scored with 54(153) runs while skipper Kane Williamson played a captain’s knock of 49(177). Mohammed Shami registered figures of 4/76 for India. After that, coming to bat in the second innings, India were bowled out for 170 runs giving New Zealand a target of 139 runs to win. For Kiwis, Tim Southee took four wickets, Trent Boult took three, Kyle Jamieson scalped two while Neil Wagner put one in his bag.
Chasing the winning target, New Zealand lost their two wickets for 44 runs. After that, Kane Willamson and Ross Taylor took the innings further as duo put up an unbeaten partnership of 96 runs guiding New Zealand to the first-ever WTC title. Williamson led from the front with an unbeaten 52*(89) runs, hitting eight boundaries, while Taylor scored 47*(100) runs with six fours.
