The Indian captain credited his New Zealand counterpart Kane Williamson for keeping the pressure lid on throughout the rain-affected Test before also attributing the loss to ‘momentum breaking’ delays and halts.
The match was evenly balanced before the start of play on Wednesday - the reserve day to make up for two washouts on Day 1 and 4.
However, New Zealand’s formidable tactics caught the Indian batsmen off-guard, and they could only put up a final-innings target of 139 runs in 53 remaining overs.
This was chased by New Zealand with eight wickets and seven overs to spare. The Black Caps became the inaugural Test champions, and Williamson pocketed his country’s first ICC trophy in 21 years.
Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation:
Virat Kohli rued the rain-halts, saying India might have scored more without them. He, however, also added that New Zealand’s disciplined charge pushed India into the corner, and they eventually fell 30-40 runs short of a competitive total.
“Test format is the heartbeat of international cricket” - Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, being a staunch advocate of Test cricket as the purest and most integral form of cricket, further called the WTC a step in the right direction to keep cricket’s ‘heartbeat’ competitive and alive.
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