Virat Kohli was a disappointed captain as India suffered a comprehensive 8-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final on Wednesday (June 23).
Resuming their second innings from 64/2, Team India got bowled out for 170 on the reserve sixth day in 73 overs, setting the Kiwis a modest target of 139 runs.
In reply, New Zealand rode on skipper Kane Williamson’s 52 not out and Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 47 to overhaul the target with 7.1 overs left in the day.
Reflecting on the loss, Kohli rued the batting performance of his team in the first session on the reserve day.
“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,” the Indian skipper said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“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,” he added.
Black Caps pacer Kyle Jamieson earned the Player-of-the-Match award for his 7 wickets in the game, including a five-wicket haul in India’s innings.
Praising the lanky fast bowler, Kohli said: “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.”
The World Test Championship was introduced in 2019 to give greater context to the longest format of the game and Virat Kohli praised ICC’s move.
“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,” he said.
Team India’s next assignment is a five-Test series against England, starting August 4 at Trent Bridge.
“It's a long summer ahead and we are really looking forward to the next series (Tests against England),” Kohli concluded.
