World Test Championship: Top 3 encounters between India and New Zealand

The Virat Kohli-led Indian men’s cricket team
is all set to square off against New Zealand in the final of the World Test
Championship at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on June 18.

Before both sets of players actually step
into the arena to showcase their outstanding talents, let’s take a look at the
high-quality encounters between the two sides in the past. 

Also read: World Test Championship: New Zealand’s road to the final

New Zealand vs India 1st Test – March 2009

Till then India hadn’t won a single Test
in New Zealand, ever. And going into the first Test at Hamilton, although they
flaunted an incredible lineup, the expectations were measured. Coming out to
bat first, New Zealand were facing Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. The two
pacers seemed to enjoy the bounce and hint of swing that Seddon Park had to
offer.

Snapping away at the Kiwi batting lineup,
Khan and Sharma bought them down to 60/6 at one point. While a collapse was
seemingly on the cards, Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori had other plans.

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The two scored centuries to take the
Black Caps to 279/10 in the first innings. Sharma bagged 4 wickets while Munaf
Patel had 3.

In the second innings, India came out to
bat with and Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir offered a steady start. But
Sehwag soon had to depart for 24 (off 21 balls). In came Rahul Dravid and along
with Gambhir the pair put up a 100-run partnership.

After Gambhir departed, at No. 4 Sachin
Tendulkar came out to bat and what unfolded has supreme innings. Flaunting his
cover drives, straight drives and cheeky flicks, Tendulkar raced to 160 off 260
balls and India put up a score of 520/10.

Also read: ICC WTC Final: Consolidated XI of India and New Zealand | Predictions

Chasing the mammoth lead, the Kiwis were
yet again bundled for 279, Brendon McCullum high-scoring with 84 off 135.

India came out to bat in the fourth
against, having to chase just 39 runs and they did so without losing sweat or
wickets. With that India had won on New Zealand soil for the first time in 33
years and that too a 10-wicket victory.   

India vs New
Zealand 1st Test – February 2014

Winning the toss, India chose to bowl
first in Auckland. However, the decision couldn’t have fared worse as the hosts
accumulated a mammoth total of 503 runs.

Skipper Brendon McCullum led from the
front with 224 runs off 307 deliveries, thrashing the Indian bowlers out of the
park. Ishant Sharma put in a herculean effort to scalp 6 wickets in the
innings.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson scored 113 off
172 balls while Corey Anderson contributed a quickfire 77.

Also read: Top scorers, wicket-takers and more: Key statistics from the WTC

India were rolled over for 202 in
response, with Rohit Sharma (72) being the only batsman to cross the
half-century mark. Neil Wagner (4/64) was the most successful New Zealand
bowler, while Trent Boult and Tim Southee followed with three wickets each.

The match was poised to be a one-sided
affair at the halfway mark, however, the India bowlers led the fightback as
they held the Kiwis for 105 in their second innings.

Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma both
bagged three wickets each.

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Despite the Indian bowlers’ commendable
fightback, the visitors still had a daunting task on hand as they had to chase
407 for victory.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan (115) made a
fighting century and Virat Kohli contributed 67. However, India went down by 40
runs in the end as Wagner claimed another four-for, while Boult and Southee
took three wickets apiece.

India vs New
Zealand 1st Test – October 2003

In Ahmedabad, after winning the toss, the
hosts chose to bat first in the first Test of the two-match series. India
handed to debut to Aakash Chopra and Lakshmipathy Balaji. 

Powered by a double-hundred from Rahul
Dravid and a century from Sourav Ganguly, India amassed 500/5 in the first
innings and decided to declare. Dravid faced 387 balls for his 222.

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India were already in a prime position in
the Test and New Zealand being bundled 340 didn’t help either. Nathan Astle
top-scored for the Black Caps with 103 off 207 deliveries. Zaheer Khan hit the
mark running as he snapped up four scalps.

In India’s second innings, the hosts
declared for 209/6 as Rahul Dravid added a quickfire 73 off 86 deliveries.
Chasing down the target of 370 runs, New Zealand six wickets down for 169 just
before tea. The victory was in sight for India.

But Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle both
made their second fifty-plus scores of the match, and batted for over 40 overs
to make the game safe for New Zealand.

The game, which was almost in India’s
grasp, meandered its way to a draw, as the Indian bowlers failed to scalp
another wicket.