Team India is taking on New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final that started from Friday at Southampton.
Put in to bat first, India looked sturdy till the second day but suddenly suffered a collapse from the fourth session onwards. Despite Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane standing tall, their side was all bundled out for 217 in 92.1 overs.
In response, the Kiwi openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway looked in good touch. New Zealand had clashed with England in an away series before the marquee event, which helped them understand the conditions.
Kohli knew that one of the ways to send the Black Cap batters back to the pavilion was to put pressure on them not only through bowling but also verbally. Taking the same route, Kohli tried to disturb Latham by sledging him when Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was bowling.
Kohli cheekily taunted Latham by expressing that Bumrah was deceiving the southpaw well and the latter wouldn’t be able to prove his mettle.
“He got no idea Jas [Bumrah], You’re all over him buddy, You can make him up there as well, He knows he’s not getting it on the bat, boys,” Kohli was caught saying on the stump mic.
Here is the video:
https://twitter.com/pant_fc/status/1406614135085797384
However, Latham continued to move through his innings patiently and was dismissed after making a 104-ball 30. Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a lofty ball outside off, only for Latham to play a cover drive without any control as he ended up giving a catch to Kohli.
Meanwhile, India have made a comeback in the game after Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma took three and two wickets, respectively. Kane Williamson & Co. are stranded at 179/6 and trailing by 38 runs.
