3 REASONS WHY INDIA LOST THE WTC FINAL
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Jasprit Bumrah's off day at the office
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Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly one of the best all-format bowlers in the world right now. However, the right-arm pacer could not get going in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He was the only Indian bowler to return wicketless in the WTC final.
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Bumrah bowled 26 overs in the first innings, giving away 57 runs. In the second innings, he bowled 10.4 overs, conceding 35 runs. Bumrah failed to impress with the bat also on both the innings, and even dropped a catch of Kane Williamson in the second innings.
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Poor shot selection on Day 6
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More than team selection, some poor shot selection from the Indian batsmen on the final day impacted the team's chances of winning. Rishabh Pant looked set for a big score, but then he took the aerial route against Trent Boult and handed a catch to Henry Nicholls.
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Even India’s vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane looked well set for an innings before losing his wicket to a delivery down the leg-side. If the shot selection was a little better, the Indian team could have batted for a little longer and set a bigger target for New Zealand.
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India's bowlers found it hard to dismiss the Kiwi lower order
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Many fans feel India could have put New Zealand under pressure if they had set a target of around 175-200 runs for the Blackcaps in the fourth innings. However, that did not happen. Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma had reduced the Kiwis to 162/6 in the first innings.
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At that stage, it looked like India may even take a slender lead. However, the last four wickets of New Zealand added 87 runs to the total. The Blackcaps took a 32-run first-innings lead, and that made a huge difference in the second half of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
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