‘We knew Ashwin & Jadeja were going to become apparent’: Head coach Gary Stead on NZ’s mindset against IND on WTC Final

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead opened up on his team’s tactics to get the better of India in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

The Black Caps posted 249 runs in the first innings, leading India (217) by 32 runs. Open Davon Conway slammed a 153-ball 54 while skipper Kane Williamson scored 49 off 177 deliveries. In the second innings, the Kiwi pacer toyed with the India batters as Virat Kohli & Co. were bowled out for 170, setting a paltry 139-run target for the opponents.

New Zealand chased it down comprehensively and won the game by 8 wickets to be crowned as the world champions.

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Speaking with the Niche Sports YouTube Channel, coach Stead said New Zealand had hoped of batting a little longer in the first innings, keeping in mind the capabilities of Indian spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

“We were actually hoping to bat a little bit longer than we did and hopefully score some more runs. We thought first-innings runs were going to be very important on a pitch that was wearing and we knew (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja were going to become more and more apparent in the game as it went on”

Stead believes that New Zealand’s WTC final win is going to leave a great impact on the budding cricketers of his country.

“We are excited (about) what this could do for cricket in New Zealand as well. That’s a really good thing that we have to make sure that we have young cricketers – boys and girls – in New Zealand that want to partake in cricket,” Stead concluded.