Tables were turned for Team India after skipper Virat Kohli showcased another batting failure against New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship on the reserve day at the Rose Bowl Stadium. With rain playing spoilsport in the summit clash, the final of the Test Championship went into the sixth day as India resumed their 2nd innings on 64/2 on Wednesday.
The onus was on skipper Kohli to play a match-changing innings against the Kane Williamson-led side in the Test Championship showdown. Kohli resumed India’s innings with premier batsman Cheteshwar Pujara in the opening session of the reserve day at Southampton. While many expected skipper Kohli to play a blinder with the willow, the talismanic skipper was removed for cheap by pacer Kyle Jamieson.
For the second time in the Test Championship final, Kohli was dismissed by his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate as the skipper departed for 13 off 29 balls in 1st session of the rain-marred Test Championship final. Taking cognisance of Kohli’s cheap dismissal from the commentary box, former Test cricket greats Sunil Gavaskar and Nasser Hussain reacted to Kohli’s batting failure against the Black Caps in the ultimate showdown.
“Little bit more like 2014 and not the one of 2018. That was the sort of line that James Anderson troubled him with in 2014. He left those last time around when he played in England,” Hussain said on commentary. Kohli had a forgetful tour of England in the 2014 season. Kohli played out disastrous knocks of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, and 20 in the five-match Test series. “His backfoot didn’t move and he committed himself to the shot,” Gavaskar added.
Talking more about the match, India witnessed a shocking batting collapse on the final day of the Test Championship. Cheteshwar Pujara (15), Ajinkya Rahane (15), and Ravindra Jadeja (16) all departed for cheap as Team India was bundled out for 170 runs in their second innings, handing New Zealand a target of 139 runs to win the final.
