On Wednesday, New Zealand made history by defeating India by eight wickets to win the first ICC World Test Championship in Southampton. On Day 6, the reserve day, with a score of 139 to win, Captain Kane Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor used all their experience to lead their team to their first World Test Championship title.
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Let Us Try To Figure Out The Factors That Led India To Lose The WTC Finals:
Lack Of Match Practice Before Final
The biggest reason for the dismal performance of team India in this one-off test is the lack of match practice that was required for this mega final. It seems BCCI had no intention to provide better training and preparation for the WTC final.
They focused more on the glamour event IPL which made the team go off-track. New Zealand was better prepared having played 2 tests against England, and they even reached England almost a month before the ICC WTC final.
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Choosing a Wrong Team
India did not field a team for the English conditions, which were strongly stacked in favor of the seamers with three fast bowlers and two spinners, whilst New Zealand had an all-pace attack without the spinner.
Kyle Jamieson, a young Kiwi pacer, smashed through the Indian batsmen in the first innings, taking 5 for 31 and dismissing them for 217.
In Both Innings, The Batting Performance Was Poor
In the first innings, India went from 146/3 to 217 all out. It was one of the game’s pivotal moments. Even though Mohammed Shami returned India to the game with four wickets and the Kiwis first-innings lead was reduced to 32 runs, India needed to bat effectively in the second innings.
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However, the batsmen were once again undone by the New Zealand bowlers. The Indian batsmen could have applied themselves and batted for longer on the final day, beginning on 64/2, but they did not. Kohli and Co. put in a dismal performance on the reserve sixth day when the circumstances were much better for batting.
The Ducks of Jaspreet Bumrah
Jaspreet Bumrah failed to deliver on the greatest platform when India expected from him. With Virat Kohli picking for three fast bowlers and two spinners, the speed trio to perform well in favorable conditions. While Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma performed admirably, Bumrah fell short of expectations by going wicketless in Southampton.
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In the match, he bowled 36.4 overs but did not get a wicket. He looked threatening on the sixth and final day, inducing an edge from Ross Taylor’s bat, but the catch was dropped by Cheteshwar Pujara in the slips. Kohli decided not to give Bumrah the new ball in the second innings after 26 wicketless overs in the first. Instead, he opened with Ishant and Shami.
Failure To Expel New Zealand’s Tailenders
New Zealand’s tailenders made a crucial difference with the bat in their first innings, but India’s bottom-order batters flopped in both innings. Shami had brought India back into the game with his four-wicket haul, but they were unable to clear up the tail. At one point, New Zealand was on 162/6, but Kyle Jamieson came in and smacked a quickfire 21 off 16 balls.
