IND vs NZ | This Morning Was The Difference: Virat Kohli Reveals Turning Point of WTC Final

New Zealand won the WTC Final by eight wickets against India at Southampton.

New Delhi: New Zealand clinched the World Test Championship title as they won the inaugural edition by beating India in the final by eight wickets on Wednesday at Ageas Bowl, Southampton by chasing down 139 runs. It was a fantastic effort from the Kiwis as they were able to dominate the Virat Kohli-led team in the summit clash.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and veteran batsman Ross Taylor led the team to comprehensive victory as they scored 52 and 47 runs respectively. This is New Zealand’s first major ICC title since 2000 when the Kiwis won the ICC knockout title in which they had defeated the Indian team.

Meanwhile, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli was disappointed after his team’s loss in the final. India lost three wickets in the opening session of the reserve day and Kohli feels it was the turning point of the game.

Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation, “First up, a big congratulations to Kane and his team. They’ve shown great consistency and heart, and pull off a result in three days. They put us under pressure throughout the Test and did extremely well to win. It was difficult to get momentum on Day 2, and we did really well with the ball in the first innings. This morning was the difference where their bowlers executed their plans to perfection and didn’t give us scoring opportunities. We were 30-40 short of giving them a good target”.

Kohli added that he doesn’t regret naming the playing XI of the WTC final two days before the start (Day 2) of the action. The Indian captain added that they played the best combination, which has done well for them in the past.

Kohli added, “I don’t regret announcing my XI beforehand, because you need an all-rounder in the side but we made a unanimous decision that these are the best XI we can take into the park”.

The Indian captain went on to heap praise on Kyle Jamieson, who was awarded the Player of the match for taking seven wickets in the game. Jamieson was the pick of the bowlers and returned with impressive figures of 5/31 in the first essay. The lanky paceman also dismissed Kohli in both the innings.

Kohli opined, “Jamieson is coming up nicely in international cricket – good areas with the ball, and he can bat quite well too. He’s had a great game and he deserves the man of the match award”.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli, who has been the flag bearer of Test cricket, shed light on the importance of the five-day format and also praised ICC for introducing the World Test Championship.

Kohli concluded, “It’s great for the game (WTC) and the more Test cricket is given importance, the better it will be for international cricket. It’s a great move by ICC. Test cricket is the heartbeat of the game. It’s a long summer ahead and we are really looking forward to the next series”.

India will now play five-match Test series against England.