Advertisment
Cricket

‘Kane mama toh Devmanush nikla’ - Fans laud New Zealand for helping India qualify for Test Championship final by defeating Sri Lanka

Here is how fans have reacted to the performance of New Zealand as they helped the Men in Blue to get into the final of WTC

author-image
Jennifer
New Update
New Zealand and team India

New Zealand and team India (Image Source: Twitter)

Team India were looking to get into the final of the World Test Championship as they hosted Australia for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But, still, Sri Lanka had also a chance as they visited New Zealand for a two-match Test series. So, the Men in Blue were looking to avoid a series loss while expecting Sri Lanka to lose or draw atleast one match against the Kiwis.

Advertisment

However, Rohit Sharma’s side came to the last match of the series in Ahmedabad with a 2-1 lead. But, all eyes were on the first match of the Test series between the Kiwis and Lankans. The match took place in Christchurch, starting on 9 March. The Men in Blue also locked horns with the Aussie for the last match on the same day.

New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in the first Test and helped India to get qualified for the WTC final

The match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka got off to a brilliant start as the home side won the toss and elected to bowl first. In Sri Lankan’s first innings, they scored 355 runs in 92.4 overs. Kusal Mendis was the highest scorer with 87 runs off 83 balls. Tim Southee picked up five wickets for the Kiwis. Then, in reply, New Zealand scored 373 runs and took a lead of 18 runs. Darryl Mitchell scored 102 runs while for the Lankans, Asitha Fernando grabbed four wickets. Then, Sri Lanka got bundled out for 302 runs in their second innings and set a target of 285 runs for the Kiwis. The veteran batter Angelo Matthews scored 115 runs off 235 balls. Blair Tickner grabbed four wickets. 

Advertisment

Before the start of play on day five, the Kiwis needed 257 runs with nine wickets in hand. So, an exciting day was waiting and Indian fans were keeping an eye on the match also. Meanwhile, the fourth Test between the Aussies and team India were heading for a draw. So, fans were hoping that if the Kiwis manage to avoid a loss, they will automatically qualify for the WTC final. But, Kane Williamson played an outstanding knock of 121* runs along with Darryl Mitchell’s quickfire 81 runs. That helped the Kiwis to defeat Sri Lanka by two wickets in the last over of the day. With this thrilling win, New Zealand knocked out Sri Lanka from the equation and now, India will take on Australia in the final of the WTC. 

Fans went crazy and lauded New Zealand for helping team India to get qualified for the WTC final:

 

Cricket News India Australia New Zealand Sri Lanka Twitter Reactions