Two years after the Kiwis heartbreak in the World Cup final against England at Lord’s, New Zealand returned to English soil and emerged triumphant, an eight-wicket victory over India meaning Kane Williamson’s men were crowned the inaugural world Test champions at the end of a dramatic sixth day that stirred the senses.
Gone was the miserable rain that pushed the game into a reserve day, the sun smiling on Williamson as he lifted the ICC’s Test mace in Southampton. The Black Caps’ commitment to whole-hearted, ego-free cricket and a collective purpose delivered the title they so truly deserve.
A target of 139 was never enough to stop the Kiwis and Williamson (52 not out), after a brilliant match as captain, played sublime drives in a short chase on a balmy reserve day which was used to compensate for two days of cricket being lost to rain.
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s two early wickets raised hopes of a twist in the tale for the Indian dugout but Williamson and Taylor doused them one patient stroke at a time.
It was Jamieson, the Player of the Match, who sent a match seemingly destined for a draw and a shared title hurtling towards its memorable conclusion after India resumed on 64 for two and leading by 32. He knocked over Kohli and Pujara first thing – the former for the second time as he poked one behind for 13 – amid award-winning match figures of 7/61 from 46 overs, 22 of which were maidens.
The 6ft 8in right-arm pacer’s emergence over the past 18 months has augmented an already well-oiled New Zealand machine, one of the pistons of which is Neil Wagner and his lung-busting commitment to the short ball.
Final Score
India 217 and 170
New Zealand 249 and 140-2
For Kohli, this is the third failure in big ICC events after the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup.
He might just have one more shot, which is .the T20 World Cup happening this year and failing in that event too might bring some changes in the team hierarchy.