India vs New Zealand (IND vs NZ) WTC Final Test Reserve Day Highlights: New Zealand chased down the target of 139 to win the first-ever World Test Championship final with eight wickets in hand. Skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor remained unbeaten for 52 and 47 respectively to guide New Zealand home. Earlier, the Kiwis lost both their openers in the run chase. R Ashwin got both the wickets in the third session.
Earlier in the day, Kyle Jamieson pushed India on the back foot with the wickets of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rishabh Pant was India’s highest run-scorer in the second innings with an 88-ball 41. Tim Southee helped mop up the tail quickly and put an end to Mohammed Shami’s cameo. Trent Boult came back into the attack and got the wicket of Pant and Ashwin. Neil Wagner’s marathon helped the Kiwis get the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja. India could add 106 runs to their overnight score and lost eight wickets.
India
217 (92.1) & 170 (73.0)New Zealand
249 (99.2) & 140/2 (45.5)New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets
Quick WTC Final Coverage
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Kane Williamson wins the ultimate Test battle but there is no love lost between the two captains. Williamson took his side home remaining unbeaten for 52.
Ross Taylor finishes it off in style. New Zealand win the WTC final by 8 wickets. We can't stop ourselves from saying that nice guys do finish last. New Zealand finally get their hands on the trophy. They deserve to be the World Champions. They were robbed of the ODI title in 2019 owing to a bizarre boundary rule. But this time they have not left anything to chance. The Test mace is theirs to lift.
Ishant Sharma seems to have injured his finger. After a quick chat with the physio, Ishant is on his way out of the field holding his finger. Jasprit Bumrah will complete his over now. NZ 133/2
Another chance goes down. Kane Williamson goes for the big shot but the leading edge and the ball went straight up in the air. Jasprit Bumrah got around it but misjudged it completely. Virat Kohli hides his face. Next ball, Williamson hits a boundary and gets to his half-century from 86 deliveries. NZ 133/2 after 44 overs
Kiwis don't want to leave it for the last half an hour. They want to finish this run chase now. Both the batsmen have moved into their 40s. Kane Williamson hit his seventh boundary of the innings. Both the batsmen picked up threes from Ishant Sharma's over as well. 14 more to win now. NZ 125/2 after 43 overs
Once again, Kane Williamson releases the pressure off the last ball of the over with a boundary. Maybe Virat Kohli is considering taking Ravindra Jadeja off the attack. Mohammed Shami may have another fiery spell in store. NZ 115/2 after 42 overs
Ishant Sharma replaces Jasprit Bumrah. Ishant bowled just one loose delivery on Ross Taylor that went for a couple of runs. Ishant had some trouble landing his feet because of the deep footmarks. He fell on the pitch a couple of times but was able to beat Taylor. NZ 111/2 after 41 overs
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After five good deliveries including the one that beat Kane Williamson, Jasprit Bumrah ends up conceding a boundary off the last ball of the over. Williamson pushes it on the front foot and finds the gap. India need to dry up the boundaries here to build some sort of pressure on these two batsmen. NZ 108/2 after 39 overs
Ravindra Jadeja gives away three singles and bowls a no ball as well. New Zealand need 35 more runs to win from 15 overs. The umpires have called for a drinks break. It is going to be the last hour of play. India can still stop the flow of runs and take it to the end. It is going to be an interesting hour of play nevertheless. NZ 104/2 after 38 overs
It was a good over from Jasprit Bumrah where he was able to beat Ross Taylor a couple of times but a misdirected delivery on the pads led to an easy boundary. New Zealand need just 39 more runs to win now. NZ 100/2 after 37 overs
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson have put on 50 runs for the third wicket in the third session. Kane Williamson lap-sweeps and gets another boundary. No pressure on the Kiwis. NZ 96/2 after 36 overs
The awkward bounce generated by Jasprit Bumrah from a short of the length delivery surprises Ross Taylor hitting him on the side of the helmet. Taylor was on the front foot and the ball whizzed past his bat to hit the helmet. After the mandatory concussion test, Taylor continues to play. NZ need 47 more runs to win. 18 more overs left in the day. Meanwhile, Pant is back on the field behind the stumps. NZ 92/2 after 35 overs
Kane Williamson drives through the covers to score his fourth boundary. New Zealand now need 50 more runs to win. Bumrah finishes the over with a yorker that is well defended by Williamson. This is Bumrah's first yorker in the innings. NZ 89/2 after 33 overs
Virat Kohli's decision to bring back Jasprit Bumrah into the attack almost worked but Cheteshwar Pujara dropped a sitter at first slip. Bumrah was finally able to bowl the delivery to get his first wicket in the match but sloppy catching robbed him of it. Taylor survives and is batting on 27. NZ 85/2 after 31 overs
New Zealand are dominating now. Ross Taylor plays the cut shot and gets three runs. Later in the over, Kane Williamson plays the cut shot to get his second boundary. NZ need 55 more runs to win. NZ 84/2 after 30 overs
Wriddhiman Saha is keeping the stumps replacing Rishabh Pant. Change of ends for R Ashwin. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor picking up singles. Three more singles from Ashwin's over. NZ 77/2 after 29 overs
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja into the attack. The crowd has gone silent now as the third-wicket partnership grows. 4 runs from Jadeja's over including three singles and a no ball. Extras are the last thing India need at this point. The game seems to be slipping away from India's grasp and the need of the hour is a cluster of wickets. NZ 74/2 after 28 overs
Virat Kohli brings Ishant Sharma into the attack replacing Mohammed Shami. Ross Taylor takes on Ishant as well as he hits him for a boundary. A single more from the over. India in dire need of wickets as New Zealand need 69 runs to win. NZ 70/2 after 27 overs
Kane Williamson hits his first boundary of the innings. Williamson punches it off the back foot and finds the gap with ease. Williamson and Ross Taylor are looking dangerous now. Virat Kohli may look to make some changes in the field or bowling to get a breakthrough. NZ 64/2 after 25 overs