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As Ross Taylor hit the winning runs by whipping Mohammed Shami away for a four towards square leg, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull, who was on air, said there was a hint of "David versus Goliath" while describing the Kiwis' eight-wicket victory over India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
It sure does seem like it when one compares the 1.3 billion population of India to New Zealand's 5 million. But if one looks at the Blackcaps' recent record in International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments and their head-to-head stats against India, there is a different story altogether.
Make no mistake, India have one of the best, if not the best, bowling attacks in the world and arguably the best batsman of the generation in Virat Kohli at their disposal. They didn't have any injury setbacks as they did in Australia. India also have enviable bench strength, strong enough to tour two separate nations simultaneously.
But at the end of the day, a team can only field 11 players. India had their own batting problems coming into the final. Rohit Sharma is yet to prove himself as an opener in Test match cricket in overseas conditions. While Shubman Gill has been pretty inconsistent since his debut, Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli haven't scored an international century since January 2019 and November 2019 respectively. Add to this the fact that all of them were coming into the WTC final from the IPL and without any proper red-ball cricket under their belt.
New Zealand, on the other hand, had played two Test matches against England before the final and won the series by a 1-0 margin. India, meanwhile, played just one intra-squad game before the final. Not the ideal preparation ahead of a crucial Test match.
New Zealand have always punched above their weight
New Zealand can never compete with the resources and the bench strength of India, but they have always been a team that punched above their weight, particularly in ICC tournaments. In the last six years, apart from the 2017 Champions trophy, they have reached at least the semi-final stage of all the ICC tournaments.
They lost in the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup and the final of the ODI World Cups in 2015 and 2019. Their home record in Tests is as good as India's and they beat Virat Kohli and co. comprehensively during the last Test series between the two sides in 2020. They too have a modern-day great in Kane Williamson as captain and a fast bowling quartet capable of destroying any batting line-up in the world on their day.
One could argue that the result might have been different if the match had been played in the UAE. Perhaps it would have reduced the difference between the two sides. Perhaps it was the bit of luck that New Zealand needed to finally get their hands on an ICC trophy after 21 years and seek redemption for their heartbreaking loss in the 2019 World Cup final.
For India, it was another "so near, yet so far" moment under Virat Kohli as their wait continues for an ICC trophy under his leadership. For now, New Zealand are the inaugural winners of the World Test Championship and while India might have been the 'Goliath', the Kiwis were never the 'David'.
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