New Zealand were 'deserved winners', says Ravi Shastri after WTC Final loss

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Team India head coach Ravi Shastri said that New Zealand were "deserved winners" in the final of the World Test Championship. Kane Williamson's side defeated India by 8 wickets in the final, lifting the Test Championship mace in the format's inaugural global tournament.

Taking to his official Twitter account, Shastri wrote, "Better team won in the conditions. Deserved winners after the longest wait for a World Title. Classic example of Big things don't come easy. Well played, New Zealand. Respect."

New Zealand outshined India in the reserve day of the WTC Final, bowling Virat Kohli's side out on 170 before chasing the lowly 139-run target with eight wickets to spare.

This was New Zealand's second ICC title after the KnockOut Trophy in 2000.

The win was also significant for the Kiwis as the side had lost in the final of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, and many initially feared that the ICC silverware would elude the BlackCaps this time as well. Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was among one of them.

"They've been on a pretty amazing journey for the last few years and they've been so close to tasting the ultimate success," McCullum told 'SEN Radio'.

"To do it in the purist form of the game is just something quite magnificent. I'm not sure it's really sunk in just yet, to be honest.

"Overnight the game was on a bit of a knife's edge, but it almost had the feeling of the previous two World Cups that we'll get close but we won’t quite get across the line," he added.