The World Cup Test final 2021 was the most anticipated cricket match of the year, with two top teams in India and New Zealand, locking horns at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, England, from 18th -23rd June 2021. The match went on to the reserve 6th day due to rain interruptions making the match very interesting. Chasing a target of 139, New Zealand was clinical and managed to win the championship and became the first team to be crowned World Test Champions. On the other hand, India could not win the key moments and eventually came second-best in today cricket match. Let’s look at how history was made in 6 days of riveting Test cricket.
Final 11 India and New Zealand
| India | New Zealand |
| Rohit Sharma | Tom Latham |
| Shubman Gill | Devon Conway |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | Kane Williamson (c) |
| Virat Kohli (c) | Ross Taylor |
| Ajinkya Rahane | Henry Nicholls |
| Rishabh Pant (wk) | BJ Watling (wk) |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Colin de Grandhomme |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | Kyle Jamieson |
| Ishant Sharma | Neil Wagner |
| Mohammed Shami | Tim Southee |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Trent Boult |
Day 1: Washout
The World Cup Test final began inauspiciously with rain preventing any play from happening on the 1st day. Although the rain stopped in the afternoon, the wet outfield made sure that not a single ball was bowled, ensuring today’s cricket match to be taken to the reserve day.
Day 2: Match began
Surprisingly, Day 2 began with dry weather, and the play began at 10.30 AM BST. Kane Williamson won the toss and asked Kohli and his men to bat first, looking at the overcast conditions and expecting the duke ball to swing and seam. India began well with Rohit and Gill scoring 62 runs for the first wicket. The New Zealand pacers were off target and were unable to utilize the helpful pitch in the first session. Kyle Jamieson turned things around and took the first wicket as Rohit edged the ball to third slip and was caught by Tim Southee. Soon Gill was out, and India was 69/2. At the end of Day 1, India was 146/3 in 64.4 overs, with Kohli and Rahane at the crease with 44 and 29 runs, respectively.
Day 3: India all out for 217
Today’s cricket match was delayed due to rain, and the match began at 11 AM. Kohli fell early without adding to his overnight score of 44. Rishabh Pant followed him, getting caught at slip off Jamieson’s bowling for 4 runs. Rahane showed some resistance and scored 49 runs before getting dismissed by Wagner. Eventually, India made 217 losing all 10 wickets, with Jamieson grabbing 5/31. Conway and Latham began proceedings for New Zealand and made 70 runs together before Ashwin got Latham out, caught by Kohli. New Zealand was 101/2 at the end of the day, with Conway gone after making a half-century. The senior players Williamson and Taylor took on Indian bowlers on Day 4.
Day 4: Rain was the winner
Rain played all day, making the World Cup Test final very frustrating for both players and viewers. New Zealand remained 101/2 at the end of Day 4.
Day 5: New Zealand’s tail wagged
Again, rain delayed the proceedings of today’s cricket match. Ishant Sharma brought India back into the match, dismissing Taylor, Watling, and Nicholls, leaving New Zealand 135/5 at lunch. Williamson played a gritty inning of 49 before getting out of Sharma’s bowling. Unfortunately for India, the tailenders of NZ shone and scored 82 runs and got them ahead by 32 runs, eventually making 249. India started their second innings and lost Gill early at the team score of 24 as Southee got an lbw decision in his favor. At the end of Day 4, India was 64/2 leading by 32 runs with Kohli and Pujara at the crease.
Day 6: New Zealand made history
The World Cup Test final went into the reserve day, with a draw being the most likely result out of the three. But things turned very badly for India as they fell like 9 pins in the second innings, getting bundled out for just 170 runs. Pant scored 41 for India, whereas Southee and Boult grabbed 4 and 3 wickets blowing away India. Chasing a simple target of 139, New Zealand easily managed it with the help of Williamson’s 52 and Taylor’s 47.
New Zealand became the first World Test Champions leaving Indian fans disappointed. Kyle Jamieson was awarded the Man of the Match award for his splendid bowling of 5/31 and 2/30 in the 1st and 2nd innings, respectively.
