India had to face a lot of criticism after their 8-wicket loss to New Zealand in the final of inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton. While none of the Indian batsmen managed to score a fifty in both innings, the Kiwi batters on the other hand cashed in on their first innings lead and eventually won the title.
Even after getting bowled out for just 217 runs in the first innings, the Indian bowlers managed to pull things back as Kane Williamson and Co. just managed to get a slender 32-run lead but the bowling unit failed to replicated the performance in the second innings with a small 139-run target to defend.
While there was a lot of talk amongst the fans about India lacking that killer instinct after the loss, former Australia cricketer Michael Bevan took to Instagram and listed some of the reasons behind Team India's uninspiring performance against New Zealand in the WTC final.
The first reason Bevan listed out was not enough match practice in English conditions. While the New Zealand team played a two-match Test series against England, the subcontinental giants just played an intra-squad practice match before the final.
The second reason, which Bevan explained, were the conditions at the Ageas Bowl, which suited Kiwi swing bowlers more than Indian bowlers. And the third reason behind India's defeat was the situation on the last day of the match where Virat Kohli and Co. could only draw or lose the game.
After the loss against New Zealand, the Indian Test squad will be staying in the UK as they are scheduled to take on England in a five-match Test series slated to begin from 4 August, while a second-string Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan will be touring Sri Lanka for a limited-overs tour in July.
