New Zealand won by 8 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Kyle Jamieson
Batter
Bowler
When the nice guys came first: This Test, one with the highest stakes in history, has been a culmination of a two-year period in cricket that has seen countless obstacles, particularly beyond the boundary. The ICC's tested us with two cancelled events (2013 and 2017). COVID has tested us. And most recently, the rain has tested us. And yet Test cricket has prevailed, and provided us with a fitting spectacle for the ages - not in one of the coliseums of world cricket, but in the understated Hampshire bowl - a fitting metaphor for the quiet but immovable, unbreakable spirit of Test cricket. It was a converging culmination of a test for humanity and a test for the format. Test cricket has won against all odds, and so have New Zealand, in this battle of grit and determination. They've earned their closure. On that note, a content Rishi Roy bids you goodbye alongside Sagar Chawla, Vineet Anantharaman, Ramakrishnan MS and Mukesh Gowda. It's been an honour to bring you the coverage over the six days, and over the course of the entire Test Championship. Long live Test cricket - undisputedly the game's greatest format. *Curtains Down*
This is bigger than the World Cup. Two weeks after what we thought was the ultimate heartbreak (July 14, 2019), began the event that has culminated on this picturesque evening at the Hampshire bowl, and like Test cricket often does, it has accomplished the impossible - healed the unhealable, and defeated all rational reason to give us a result - New Zealand are the undisputed champions of the world of cricket. Nothing else matters - because Test cricket is that untouchable, unbreachable fortress in your soul, that lies beyond strike-rates, averages, and sixes - the immeasurable joy of Test cricket. Something beyond stats and numbers. Something divine...
England in India 2012: Do you remember India winning 4-1 in the ODIs, or England beating India 2-1 in the Tests? India in Australia 2020/21: India lost 1-2 to Australia in the ODIs, but you remember the fortress being breached. You remember Vihari's hamstring. You remember 36 all-out. In the end, it's not about the afterparty; it's about the contest, because in your heart of hearts you know that there would be no afterparty without the contest...
Imprisoned in our own homes for over a year, this exchange from "The Shawshank Redemption" (with some modifications) rings timelessly in our ears on D-Day. Doing what we do for a living, we can't take sides, but the Test remains the unopposed, undisputed format to crown cricket's ultimate champion. In the low-attention span society, T20s may bring in the moolah, ODIs may be fit for the World Cup, but Test cricket holds a sacred place in the world of cricket, impervious to greed and evil. It is a testament to Test cricket that any full-length tour isn't headlined by the scoreline of the white-ball series, but that of the Test series...
"That's the beauty of Test cricket. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about anything? There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside, that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours."
"What are you talking about?"
"Hope."
Tom Latham hands Williamson his medal, the flames go up in the background, fireworks are launched into the heavens and the New Zealand team, at long last, are crowned the winners of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship - and as the pyrotechnics shoot into the sky, a silhouette of Karma smiles down upon them, finally burying the ghosts of the World Cup...
Stats courtesy Deepu Narayanan
Most runs in WTC Cycle 1:
1675 Marnus Labuschagne
1660 Joe Root
1341 Steven Smith
1334 Ben Stokes
1159 Ajinkya Rahane
1094 Rohit Sharma
Most wickets in WTC Cycle 1
71 R Ashwin
70 Pat Cummins
69 Stuart Broad
56 Tim Southee
56 Nathan Lyon
48 Josh Hazlewood
Kane Williamson | New Zealand (winning) captain: It's a special feeling. It's nice to get one under the belt. I'd like to thank Virat and the Indian team. The heart that our team showed was commendable. It's the first time we have come away with a world title, and the 22 players who played a big part in getting across the line deserve all the appreciation. This will be remembered for a long time. We don't always have all the stars, and we saw that in this match. We saw so much heart and commitment. We know how strong the Indian side is, in all conditions. It's a fickle game, in a one-off final. It ebbed and flowed, no one really had the upper hand for six days, and I'm happy we're on the right side of it. It was certainly tough going in the first innings. The lower order played with more freedom and got us a lead that gave us an edge. Ross is obviously very experienced and calm in these situations and it was great to be with him right there at the end. BJ Watling - I don't know if he's retiring any more actually (jokes). He's a scrappy player, so this is a fitting end to a fantastic career for BJ Watling.
Virat Kohli | India (losing) captain: First up, a big congratulations to Kane and his team. They've shown great consistency and heart, and pull off a result in three days. They put us under pressure throughout the Test and did extremely well to win. It was difficult to get momentum on Day 2, and we did really well with the ball in the first innings. This morning was the difference where their bowlers executed their plans to perfection and didn't give us scoring opportunities. We were 30-40 short of giving them a good target. I don't regret announcing my XI beforehand, because you need an all-rounder in the side but we made a unanimous decision that these are the best XI we can take into the park. Jamieson is coming up nicely in international cricket - good areas with the ball, and he can bat quite well too. He's had a great game and he deserves the man of the match award. It's great for the game (WTC) and the more Test cricket is given importance, the better it will be for international cricket. It's a great move by ICC. Test cricket is the heartbeat of the game. It's a long summer ahead and we are really looking forward to the next series (Tests against England).
Kyle Jamieson | Man of the Match: It's a massive moment. To have some context around Test cricket is big and to be standing here now is surreal. I knew we had a big first hour today. We had the ball in the right areas, and we knew it would be a tough task. It's nice to have the ball first up and play your part. It's nice to have a chance to do good things for the team. The work that the other bowlers did was really helpful for my figures. Virat is a world-class player, and it was good to have some experience against him at RCB. To pick him up twice in the Test was great.
Kohli and Williamson are having a chat. We're here for the presentation.
Nine consecutive Tests without a defeat for New Zealand:
1964-65 (Nine draws)
1989-90 (Two wins, seven draws)
2002-03 (Three wins, six draws)
2020-21* (Eight wins, one draw)
This is the first instance of New Zealand beating India in three successive Tests
Wellington, 2020: By 10 wickets
Christchurch, 2020: By 7 wickets
Southampton, 2021: By 8 wickets
BJ Watling (playing his final Test match): It's been a lot of hardwork for a long time for our team as a group. And to get over the line like that, was pretty satisfying. Some of us were uptop and a few down at the bottom, and it was fantastic that we finished it off with two of out greatest on the pitch on a pitch that was still doing a bit. The WTC is extremely exciting for the game. It puts a big onus on the Test game, and I'm pretty stoked. I'd like to thank my family back home. My mum has been a huge help through tough times. My wife Jess, two boys, Miller and Hudson. It's been a long time away from home. We've had a pretty special group, and I'm extremely happy to end it on a high.
Ross Taylor: Still sinking in (the feeling being crowned World Champions), but it's been a long way. Long journey over a couple of years. Lot of rain for a couple days here, but I thought the way team fought from Day 1 and to be with Kane - who has been a fantastic leader for this team for a long time, to be out there in a pressure situation is something I wouldn't forget. It would have to be a highlight to say you are a world champions. Start of my career we probably didn't think we there with this quality, but we built a team and stuck together. This is probably for the fans, stuck with us through thick and thin. Hopefully few Kiwis waking up to be proud of us. It wasn't easy to start (when he went in to bat today) and Kane kept reiterating that stick in there it will get easier. Classy Indian side, never gave up. They put us under a lot of pressure. I said to Kane I felt like I had to get forward, definitely took off. World class bowler, thanks to my helmet for saving me. Something I won't forget and nice to carry through to the end. I won't forget that. 2019 World Cup was something very tough for us, this makes up for that. Will sink in a little bit more with time. Family, friends and all the sacrifices they have made for us, this is also for them.
India, despite being very much in the game until even last evening, didn't bowl consistently enough to their potential, which the Kiwis did, and certainly didn't have a batsman to make the difference and score a 70+. Eventually, New Zealand won the game of dogged resistance - a fitting contest to mark the showpiece event of Test cricket. Moreover, there couldn't have been a more fitting farewell to BJ Watling - the scorer of tough runs, and being the VVS-que figure to New Zealand batting order. "If Watling didn't score runs, the situation wasn't dire enough," Ian Bishop recalled this quote on air from an article he read, and what a fitting end this is to a remarkable Test career - representing New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final, and ending up on the winning side. We'll be back with the presentations in a moment.
After a washed out Day 1, New Zealand had the early advantage of winning the toss and putting India in to bat, but their bowling didn't quite start off the way they would've liked. The Indian openers started extremely well, and despite a comeback of sorts, 146-3 at the end of Day 2 was firmly advantage India. After that, they didn't put a foot wrong. Rahane, with 49, was the highest scorer for India, and the fact that not a single batsman went on to make a fifty will bother India. That was the difference - technical compactness between the Indian batting order and the Kiwi batting. And New Zealand edged the Indians in #TheUltimateTest of patience and grit - Devon Conway scored the only fifty in NZ's first innings, and Williamson scored a 49, only to better that with an unbeaten fifty in the second innings to see New Zealand home. Lessons from July 14, 2019 - no half-measaures. Lesson learnt.
Tim Southee: Sounds pretty good (tag of World Test Champions). Two years ago started this journey. Lot of hard work goes into it. Pretty special moment. Word coming to mind is consistency - through selection and performances. Never giving up. There's a lot of heart in this side. Dates back a lot further than the last couple of years. Pretty special feeling. The change room's a lot calmer knowing we have two experienced guys in the middle. That was the longest 139 runs I've experienced. As any international sportsperson, you're looking to get better, nothing different for me. Great group to be around. We said at the start of this tour to send him off on the right note (Watling). What he's given to the team - he's given everything.