New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson opened up on the moment when they won the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, but instead of jumping in joy, he hugged India skipper Virat Kohli. The hug of Kohli and Williamson shows the friendship they often talk about.
Williamson was on the crease and he along with Ross Taylor steered their side to a historic win by 8 wickets, chasing 139 runs on the reserve day of the WTC final. When Taylor hit the winning runs to seal the deal, the New Zealand skipper took a sigh of relief as they won an ICC tournament final.
Talking about the moment when Kohli and Williamson showed great sportsmanship after the match, the Kiwi captain said they both know their relationship is beyond the game of cricket.
“That was a great moment. We knew anytime you play against India, wherever you are, it's an incredibly tough challenge. They often set the benchmark in our game in all formats. They show that with the depth that they have and cricket in their country as well,” he told Cricbuzz.
“And the friendship with Virat stems back a number of years and a number of sorts of different times. And it was cool. We always know that there's a bigger picture to it all. It was a really nice moment and our friendship and relationship are deeper than a game of cricket. And we both know that,” Williamson further said.
India had done well to come back in the game after their low score of 217 runs in the first innings. They bowled out New Zealand on 249 runs in reply. But the Williamson-led side was at their best in the second innings and bundled out India on just 170 runs.
Williamson said it was a high-pressure match and both the teams played competitive cricket. “Both teams were very competitive and played really hard and the game was so close. I know the end result tells you one thing. Throughout the match, it felt like it was on a knife's edge and you had full respect for that. At the end of it, after a long tough match like that, there's an appreciation by both teams. Someone gets the trophy, and a team perhaps doesn't get the fortune to have that,” he added.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
