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After a washout on day 1 on Friday, the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final featuring India and New Zealand commenced on Saturday, 19th of June. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and did not hesitate in choosing to bowl first. Virat Kohli also admitted at the toss that he would have opted to field first, considering the overcast conditions on offer.
We could witness 64.4 overs of action before the bad light situation forced the match officials to call stumps for the day. Earlier in the day, Indian openers Rohit Sharma (34) and Shubman Gill (28) gave India a decent start by negating the new ball threat. The duo scored 62 runs together in the first 20 overs before Rohit departed off Jamieson in the 21st over. Both players played some elegant strokes and took a heavy toll on loose deliveries.
After the departure of the openers, Cheteshwar Pujara (8 in 54 balls) tried to block his way out of trouble by playing a defensive brand of cricket. He even coped with a blow on the helmet during Wagner's bowling. Trent Boult drew curtains to his knock in the 41st over with an impressive incoming delivery which stuck Pujara's pads in front of the stumps.
Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (29) made sure that India did not lose another wicket and put together an unbeaten 58 run stand. Virat Kohli has looked like the most compact player on the day as he played with 87% control throughout. The skipper used the depth of the crease and still managed to play the ball late to counter the challenging swing conditions at Southampton.
Sourav Ganguly's 117 against New Zealand in ICC KnockOut final in 2000 went in vain due to Chris Cairn's splendid knock
The Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi was the venue for the final of the ICC KnockOut tournament (now Champions Trophy). India batted first in this summit clash against Stephen Fleming's side. Sourav Ganguly led his team from the front by scoring a magnificent century. He put on a 141-run opening partnership with Sachin Tendulkar (69), which is still the highest opening stand for India in the ICC finals.
India managed to score 264/6 after 50 overs. Ganguly's 130-ball knock comprised nine fours and four maximums. In reply, the Kiwis' top order failed to score much, which left them in trouble with 132/5 in 23.2 overs.
At this stage, all-rounder Chris Cairns(102* in 113 balls) played a stupendous knock under pressure and helped his team chase down the target. Chris Harris(46) played a supporting role in rampaging Cairns. Owing to the duo's efforts, New Zealand won the match in the last over. Seemingly the Kiwis emerged as the winners of the 2000 ICC KnockOut tournament.
Gautam Gambir (97), MS Dhoni (91*), Sehwag (82) follow Ganguly in the list of highest scores by an Indian in ICC finals.
The 77-run knock against Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup finals is Virat Kohli's highest score in the ICC finals so far. The forecast looks a bit better for Sunday. We can expect some intense cricketing action this weekend.
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