Virat Kohli with Jasprit Bumrah
Indian skipper Virat Kohli reckoned that runs from the New Zealand tail-enders made the chase difficult for the visitors at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. New Zealand's final three added 123 runs on the board on day 3 to frustrate the Indian attack en route to their massive 10-wicket win on Monday morning. The win did not just hand New Zealand their 100th Test win, it also helped Kane Williamson's men take a 1-0 lead in the two-game series.
India bagged two quick wickets at the start of day 3 before a 71-run stand between Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson frustrated the visitors. Both scored their respective 40s before the Trent Boult's batting antics troubled India further. Jamieson scored 44 off 45 with four sixes while Boult added 38 runs off 24 deliveries with five boundaries. Ajaz Patel, No.10, played the anchor role to Boult, scoring 4 off 20. The final three swelled the lead to 183 before New Zealand's new-ball pair rattled India's top order.
"Toss turned out to be very important. As a batting unit we take pride in being competitive, but we weren't. Even scoring 220-230 would've been good. That first innings put us behind and then the lead put us under more pressure. The bowlers toiled well, as a bowling group we've taken pride in being competitive. Till the first 7 NZ wickets, we were really good. Wanted to restrict the lead to under 100, but the last runs from their batsmen made things difficult," said Kohli after India's defeat.
It is India's first defeat in the ongoing World Test Championship and also their first in the format since December 14, 2018 where they had lost to Australia in Perth.
