India spinner Harbhajan Singh said New Zealand played far better than team India in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final and deserved to win the World Test Championship Mace in Southampton.
On Wednesday, June 23, New Zealand thrashed Team India by eight wickets in the WTC 2021 Final at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton to win the inaugural World Test Championship title.
Harbhajan told India Today: “New Zealand played far better than team India and they deserve to be champions. They bowled beautifully, it was a crucial toss to win and they won it. From there onwards, they were in the driver's seat. They got India out for 217 and then very cheaply in the second innings.”
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The 40-year-old also pointed out that New Zealand was the better-prepared team for the WTC Final having played two-match Test series against England and beating them. On the other hand, India played an intrasquad match in preparation for the big clash in Southampton.
He further explained, “It benefitted them, being there in England, playing those two Test matches. They understood those conditions better than the Indians. They were deserving candidates.
When you play among each other, it's never those kinds of intense games. But when you play against a County side, you will play at your best and you know what needs to be done to win those games. India could have definitely gone a little earlier.”
The spinner also admitted that there was pressure in the WTC 2021 Final, but the Indian cricket team should have kept wickets in hand during the first session of the final day Southampton.
He opined, “Pressure is there in all games. Bigger games bring more pressure of course. I was saying earlier that people may be saying it’s a great day to bat but still you have to go out there and do it. If India had lost just one wicket in that first session we would have headed for a draw. But we lost too many wickets in the first session itself and the pressure came to the boys.”
Harbhajan signed off by saying, “Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane's wickets were crucial and once they got out it was just a matter of time considering how New Zealand was bowling. Great day for New Zealand cricket but disappointing for team India.”
(With India Today Inputs)
