‘We Knew Ashwin & Jadeja Were Going To Become Apparent’, Says NZ Coach Gary Stead On Why NZ Hoped To Bat Longer In 1st Innings
‘We Knew Ashwin & Jadeja Were Going To Become Apparent’, Says NZ Coach Gary Stead On Why NZ Hoped To Bat Longer In 1st Innings

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that they had hoped to bat a bit longer than they did in the first innings of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets eventually to become the world Test champions.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson had won the toss and chose to bowl in overcast conditions that mimicked that of their own home. They managed to bowl India out for 217 with Kyle Jamieson taking 5/31. In reply, New Zealand posted 249 with Deon Conway leading the way with a half-century and Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee contributing a total of 51 runs.

Kyle Jamieson
Kyle Jamieson. (Credits: Twitter)

The slender lead of 32 runs proved to be useful, as Trent Boult with 3 wickets and Tim Southee with 4 wickets, blew India away for 170 runs in the second innings and then Kane Williamson’s 54* and Ross Taylor’s 47* and their 96*-run unbeaten partnership handed the Kiwis their second ICC trophy, 21 years after their first.

We Thought First-Innings Runs Were Going To Be Very Where Ravichandran Ashwin And Ravindra Jadeja Would Become More Apparent: Gary Stead

Speaking with the Niche Sports YouTube Channel, coach Gary Stead said New Zealand had hoped of batting a little longer in the first innings, keeping in mind the skills of Indian spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a wearing pitch.

India's WTC Final Squad
Photo Credit: (BCCI)

“We were actually hoping to bat a little bit longer than we did and hopefully score some more runs. We thought first-innings runs were going to be very important on a pitch that was wearing and we knew (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja were going to become more and more apparent in the game as it went on,” Stead said.

He also said that he believes that the WTC final win by New Zealand is going to leave a great impact on the budding and upcoming cricketers of his country.

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New Zealand Cricket Team, ICC World Test Championship
New Zealand Cricket Team pose with the ICC Test Mace after winning World Test Championship final against India. (Photo: Twitter)

“We are excited (about) what this could do for cricket in New Zealand as well. That’s a really good thing that we have to make sure that we have young cricketers – boys and girls – in New Zealand that want to partake in cricket,” Stead concluded.

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