The curtained were brought down on the primal ICC World Test Championship (WTC). New Zealand emerged as the deserving winners of the WTC Final, mopping the floor with India, defeating them by eight wickets on the reserve day in Southampton. The team also achieved their third successive victory against India.
The WTC final game saw some very unpredictable circumstances, but some incredible show of action in the marquee event. For several players, this was a milestone event as they made and broke some incredible individual records.
Here are some of the accomplishments that were achieved as during the showdown of the Test Championship:
- Virat Kohli completes 7,500 runs in Test cricket
India team skipper Virat Kohli completed the mark of 7,500 runs in Test cricket. He became the sixth Indian batsman to achieve the feat. Kohli registered 44 runs and 13 runs in the first and the second innings in the WTC Final game, totalling his Test scores to 7,547 runs. He surpassed players with the likes of Clive Lloyd (7,515); Mark Taylor (7,530); Mohammad Yousuf (7,530), and Steve Smith (7,540). Other benchmarks surpassed by Kohli includes scoring 900-plus runs (1,094) in the ICC WTC 2019-21 cycle. Kohli became the third Indian batsman to do so after compatriots Ajinkya Rahane (934) and opener Rohit Sharma (1,159). He also completed 800-plus runs against New Zealand. - Kane Williamson now the second-highest Test run-scorer for a Kiwi
New Zealand skipper Kyle Jamieson became the second-highest run-getter for New Zealand in Test cricket. He also surpassed Stephen Fleming (7,172) in accumulating Test runs. - Tim Southee completes 600 international wickets
But clinching five wickets in the WTC final game, Tim Southee became the first New Zealand player to have 600-plus (603) international wickets under his belt. he has now totalled his Test wickets tally to 314. While in ODIs and T20Is, he has 190 wickets and 99 wickets, respectively. The 32-year old did a fine job in inflicting damage to the counterparts with both bat and ball in the showdown of the ICC WTC 19-21 cycle. - Ross Taylor surpasses 18,000 runs mark in international cricket: The leading run-scorer of New Zealand, Ross Taylor earned another accolade by surpassing the 18,000 international runs mark during the WTC Final. He became the third active player to score the most runs, after Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle. He achieved the milestone in the first innings of the WTC final game, scoring 11 runs. In the second innings, however, he made an impressive comeback, playing a knock of an unbeaten 47 runs.
- Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the leading wicket-taker of the inaugural WTC
Indian spin specialist Ravichandran Ashwin became the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural WTC. He completed the two-year cycle of the championship with a tally of 71 wickets. He also completed 413 Test wickets during the process. Another notable feat by the spinner includes the completion of 52 wickets against New Zealand, a benchmark he crossed by surpassing former Indian bowling legend Anil Kumble (50 wickets). Ashwin picked up four wickets in the final against New Zealand.
Honourable mention: Kyle Jamieson emerged as the standout player of the WTC Final. He played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s first world title victory, clinching seven wickets. He took his fifth Test fifer (in the first innings) since his debut in February last year. No other bowler has taken this many five-wicket hauls during this period. He became the first New Zealand bowler to take five fifers within eight Tests. Jamieson has now amassed 16 wickets team India, and 46 overall.
