At sunset on a glorious summer day at the Ageas Bowl, India, who had finished second in the World Test Championship final, were still on the field. While Virat Kohli's team discussed events during this six-day Test match at the on-site team hotel, Kane Williamson's team at the opposite end tasted victory along with food in the dressing room. The pandemic had created this surreal moment where the defeated could hear the victor's celebration. You don't have to play sports to understand how much it hurts.
Soon after Ross Taylor scored the winning run, Williamson cheered for his teammate to embrace and celebrate this historic moment in New Zealand cricket history. Meters away, with chapped lips, Kohli shook hands with his teammates first. Then the New Zealand team along with the rest of the India team and the coaching staff.
A proud man who would never give up in his body language, Kohli with his head bowed climbed the two-level ladder towards the Indian dressing room. Indian fans at the Shane Warne stand next to him tried to cheer him up, but to no avail. He later walked alone towards the team hotel, with his India blazer in one hand, a bag of gear soaked in sweat in a plastic bag in the other. Was wondering what would have happened.
It was for the third global tournament where Kohli's India failed to win titles: the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2019 World Cup and now the WTC final. All three defeats have come in England. All three times the reason has been the same: batting failure.
India could barely breathe in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy when Mohammad Amir removed Rohit Sharma and Kohli in quick succession to hit India in the solar plexus. In the 2019 World Cup semi-final, Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri said that India lost their heads in the half-hour period where the top order fell against New Zealand. In the WTC final, under sunny skies, India's batsmen were skillfully dealt with by the constant pressure exerted by four New Zealand fast bowlers. What happens to India's batting in global tournaments?
It would be foolish to rush any hasty decisions. Unlike New Zealand, which entered the final on the back of a two-Test series against England, Kohli's men had not played any cricket during the IPL since early May and then landed in Southampton where they played a three-day intra-squad match. . It was in sunny weather. Then last Saturday he was brought to bat in the toughest of conditions - dark, gloomy clouds. None of India's batsmen got 50 runs as Kyle Jamieson troubled them with his high release points. He will do the same once again in the second innings as the batsmen fall under pressure.
Explaining the essence of the defeat, Kohli said that India let the New Zealand bowlers dominate as they were not prepared to score. But is that really the case? This test was played on a pitch made for fast bowlers. However, even the bowlers had to work hard and find the right length for the batsman to play and pull off a false stroke. Only Jamieson was successful in both the innings without breaking much sweat. Rest of them had to work hard to be successful and yet some like Jasprit Bumrah struggled.
In a match where the average scoring rate was hovering around the two-run-per-over mark, batting was never going to be easy. Still you had to find a way. And the one batsman who stood out was the best in this match: Williamson. In both the innings Williamson displayed a masterclass not only in being patient but also in playing the ball late, playing with soft hands, dropping the balls, riding his luck and then scoring runs at a steady clip when the bowlers got tired .
India were threatening to make an impossible comeback on Wednesday afternoon when R Ashwin began thundering and dodging Tom Latham and Devon Conway. But Williamson did not want to counterattack. He was well aware that there were a lot of overs left in the afternoon and his priority was to spend time before making good use of the time at the right time.
The New Zealand captain's patience paid off. India's fast bowlers were tired of bowling relentlessly on Tuesday. It was relatively easy to deal with Ashwin as well. The runs started coming as soon as the bowlers offered width and bowled short. Williamson along with Taylor picked the right balls to attack with minimal risk. It was a strategy contrary to what Kohli suggested.
India also needs to work on the balance of their team. They announced their XI on 17 June on the eve of the WTC Finals. The next day was a washout but India retained their team. As Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Bumrah got tired, the question whether India could have done with an extra seamer remained alive throughout. But as India turn their attention to the five-Test England series, they may also need to consider whether they need a batting cushion with a sixth specialist in Hanuma Vihari.
Kohli was the best batsman from both sides on the 2018 tour of England, being the only batsman to score more than 500 runs in the five-Test series, which India lost 4-1. Kohli said England all-rounder Sam Curran was the difference between the two teams as the left-arm bowling all-rounder made an impact with both the ball and the bat. It was Jamieson in the WTC Finals.
There is no lack of confidence in this Indian team. Otherwise he would never have won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a second-string team in Australia in the absence of several key players, including Kohli. Senior batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Sharma will be needed to assist Kohli in becoming the backbone of India's batting. The success of these guys will energize Rishabh Pant and Shumban Gill who can score at a brisk pace and take the game away in a session.
Pant did almost the same on Wednesday but paid the price for playing strokes after lunch on the sixth day, which turned out strongly in New Zealand's favour. Pant is young and the team management wants to give him a long leash which will help him understand his responsibility. But even seniors like Pujara, who has been one of India's weakest batsmen in the WTC, also need to find a way to work towards the team's goal.
After the loss, Kohli gave a big nod to the WTC, saying that Test cricket is the "heartbeat" of the international game. He knows that Test cricket is a mountain that cannot be broken in one go. It requires a lot of planning and then a lot of things, some of which are not in your hands. But one has to be prepared both mentally, physically and skillfully. Otherwise one can very easily slip and fall. India's batsmen soon have a mountain to climb when the five-Test series against England begins. Can they make a difference?