Former Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan has given his expert opinion on why the Virat Kohli led team could not secure the primal ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final. He listed three reasons why India lost the match against New Zealand in the Rose Bowl at Southampton. The Men in Blue lost the game by eight wickets.
Bevan posted a picture of Virat Kohli on his Instagram feed and listed three reasons he feels why India lost the mega final. The reasons as stated by him are:
“1. Preparation; India were short of match practice in English conditions
2. Conditions; suited NZ swing bowlers more than the India bowlers
3. Situation; heading into the last day India could only draw or lose putting extra pressure on their batsmen”
He stated that lack of practice in the England conditions and the preparation was a major cause for them not getting the advantage over the game. For preparation, Virat Kohli and Co. played just one intra-squad game ahead of the final match. On contrary, the New Zealand cricket team had already got time for ample preparation and time to adjust in accordance with the England weather conditions as they had recently completed a two-Test series against England. The series concluded with New Zealand winning 1-0 after the first match ended in a draw.
The second reason by Michael Bevan states that the playing conditions during the WTC Final were better suited for New Zealand pacers. Having been exposed to the playing conditions n the country during their series against England, the Black Caps bowlers got a good hang of it. The overcast conditions during the rain-hit match also had an added advantage for the NZ wicks. This was not the case for the Indian bowlers. NZ was stocked with quickies for the big day as the ground had pace-friendly conditions. On the other hand, India played with two spinners, who couldn’t get an advantage of such conditions having to get no desirable turn from their deliveries.
Lastly, the former all-rounder pointed out that the final day (Reserve Day) of the game had put extra pressure on the team, which gave them the most preferable option of pulling a draw if they wanted to avert a defeat. India had a paltry lead of 32 runs on Day 6. A disciplined game from the Kiwis made the chances of India’s victory even more slim.
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