New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opened up on his camaraderie with Virat Kohli, saying both captains have known each other for a long time and they are mates. Kohli was the first from the Indian team to congratulate Williamson on winning the World Test Championship (WTC 2021 Final) on June 23.

Williamson and Kohli go back to the U19 days and clashed for the first time in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup tournament in Malaysia, when Kohli’s India, defeated Williamson’s New Zealand in the semi-finals and then beat South Africa in the final to become champions.

"Virat and I have known each other for a long time and we are mates. It's always a great part of sports as you get the opportunity to meet people all around the world and form different friendships. Different experiences that you have either together or against each other. And often you find a bit of common ground and share a few common interests," Kane Williamson told India Today in an exclusive interview.

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New Zealand had come into the WTC 2021 Final having defeated England 0-1 in the two-Test series, while India came into the ICC event having played in the IPL 2021 and having 8-10 days of net sessions and an intra-squad match.

Speaking on the same, Williamson said, “There is no right and wrong answers for it. We all know India has a world-class Test team. Yes, in England, with Duke ball, different things happen all the time, but everyone saw that India was equally competitive. The match could have gone either way.”

“It was an amazing game to be part of. The match could have gone either way. Unfortunately, there were weather interruptions, but still, we were able to get the result. I am just glad to be part of the special game,” added Williamson.