New Zealand outplayed India in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in Southampton. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in an interaction with India Today appreciated the contributions made by the tail and admitted that they were pretty valuable in such a low-scoring match.
“Really important for us. When you have a low scoring game, the contributions from the tail become important and valuable. Small partnerships can make a big difference. They came out and played with a lot more freedom and looked to take the game on and get few quick runs. Those contributions were so valuable,” he said.
While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma only managed to get eight runs in the first innings, Tim Southee played a riveting knock for the Blackcaps and chipped in with a 46-ball 30 that included a couple of maximums.
In fact, Trent Boult remained not out for 7 off 8 during the course as New Zealand scored 249 in reply to India’s 217 and took the first innings lead which eventually proved to be crucial.
In the second innings again, the Indian tail didn’t really get much runs and it was only Shami who scored three boundaries before he was out for 13 off 10. India were bowled out for 170 and only managed to hand New Zealand a target of 139.
The Kane Williamson-led side chased down the target by 8 wickets.