Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson
While the two teams were battling it out at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday with India looking for a whitewash and New Zealand for a consolation win, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, who were not part of the playing XI, stayed on the sidelines and served drinks during the fifth and final tie. While Kohli rested to make way for Rohit Sharma in the lineup and was the stand-in skipper, Williamson had injured his shoulder and Tim Southee took over the captaincy duties.
BCCI later shared the picture of the two sitting on the sidelines with the caption, "#SpiritOfCricket". The picture also includes Rishabh Pant, who missed the entire series against New Zealand.
"Kane and me have similar mindsets, similar philosophies. It is amazing that despite being from different parts of the world, we have similar thinking and we speak the same language. Despite what the scoreline suggests, I feel that New Zealand cricket is in the best hands and he is the right guy to lead this team. He is the perfect, perfect man to lead them. I wish him the best of luck and power to lead this side in the future. They are a side everyone loves to watch and play against," said Kohli when asked about the discussion the two skippers had, in the post-match presentation.
Talking about the match, the Indian pacers, led by ever-reliable Jasprit Bumrah, shared seven wickets among them for 25 runs in match-changing 7.2 overs to restrict the Kiwis to 156 for nine while defending 163 for three. Bumrah conceded just 12 runs in his four overs and got rid of three batsmen, bowling block-hole deliveries during death overs. India's total was built around stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma' 60-run knock after they elected to bat.
(With PTI inputs)
