Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor chased down 139 runs set up by India on the Reserve Day as New Zealand lifted the debut ICC World Test Championship Trophy.
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| Image By: ICC |
Captain Kane Williamson and experienced Ross Taylor dug deep as New Zealand chased the 139th run with eight wickets in hand in the final hour of the day to beat India and lift their first World Test Championship title at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Williamson registered his 33rd Test half-century while Ross Taylor scored 47 runs as the Kiwis registered their great win. The winning runs were scored by Ross Taylor as he delivered pacer Mohammad Shami towards the deep square leg for a boundary.
Earlier, The foundation was laid by Tim Southee, who picked up four wickets on Wednesday to gain control over the Indian batsmen. India was all out at 170 runs in their second innings, giving New Zealand a target of 139 runs in 53 overs.
Blackcaps openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway saw the new ball very well but were turned down by Ashwin which gave India a spark of hope.
But when Williamson and Taylor settled down, the boundaries kept coming and they gained cruise control in the match.
The last worse thing which was left was done when Pujara dropped Taylor on Bumrah's ball while New Zealand still needed 54 runs.
The day started with the brightest day at the Rose Bowl in Southampton for the first time in six days. But it all turned dark and sad for the Indian fans as they lost big wickets in the form of captain Virat Kohli (13) and Cheteshwar Pujara (15) in the first hour of the match itself.
This damage was done by New Zealand star bowler Kyle Jamieson, who was able to dismiss both these great Indian striker batsmen.
That brought the duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant in the middle. Rahane played cautiously while Rishabh Pant danced down the track frequently to score more runs. The Pant's antics were of little use as the New Zealand pacers continued their disciplined bowling at the targeted length.
Both strikers were able to prevent the accident for a while and kept the scoreboard moving. But at 109 runs from India, Rahane (15) was dismissed by Trent Boult. It was a very unfortunate dismissal as Rahane got a small edge while playing leg glance.
Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat the next time and he and Pant took India to Lunch. Jadeja and Pant looked strong after lunch break but however, Neil Wagner produced a beauty to send back Jadeja as India slumped to 142/6.
Thereafter the end came quickly as Pant and Ashwin perished in the same over of Trent Boult while they were looking to hit quick runs to make New Zealand’s job harder as they came out to bat.
Mohammed Shami hit a few shots before Tim Southee wrapped up the innings by bringing him back along with Jasprit Bumrah. India was all out at 170 runs as they set a target of 139 runs for New Zealand to win the first ICC World Test Championship title.
Earlier in the 1st innings, New Zealand bowled out India at 217 runs after choosing to field first and with Jamieson taking five wickets. In response, it was Mohammad Shami who led India's 4-wicket haul as the Kiwis were bowled out at 249 runs. Although NZ managed to get the 32-runs lead.
All of this happened in just over 2 days of cricket as days 1 and 4 were completely washed away by the rain. The match would have ended equally with both teams sharing the title if it had not been played for a reserve date.
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