'Batting in the second inning was disappointing' - Irfan Pathan opens up on where India went wrong in WTC final

The inaugural ICC World Test Championship final was surely nothing short of a box-office event. India has been on a roll in Test cricket under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and thus a lot of hopes were pinned on the team for this mega event. The fire of Virat and the calmness of Kane Williamson further garnered the audacity of this tournament.

Having said that, New Zealand enjoyed a fruitful outing with Kyle Jamieson continuing to display his prowess in the WTC. Their pacers chummed into the scenario and the Indian batters quite didn’t have the answers to the questions asked to them. The bowling unit of India found it a Herculean task to run through the Kiwis’ batting line-up on the final day as skipper Williamson accompanied by Ross Taylor calmed the nerves and took New Zealand to the title.

Speaking on Star Sports’ show ‘Follow The Blues,’ the former team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reviewed India’s loss in the finals. He asserted that the absence of impactful pacers in the side gave the opposition an edge over them. New Zealand had a plethora of speedsters to make the most of the playing conditions in England, which India seemed to be short on. Pathan also opined that the batters should have been more calculative in the second innings.

New Zealand had a fair amount of game practice: Irfan Pathan

“We do not have quality fast-bowling allrounder – which New Zealand possesses – and it is hard to find one. Now, if we talk from a proper cricketing point of view – what went wrong for India? I think the first inning went great, but Team India’s batting in the second inning was disappointing. The ball wasn’t swinging as much in the second inning, and Indian batsmen could have batted more responsibly. I am aware of Rishabh Pants capabilities as a batsman and how he can hit balls very well, but that does not mean you hit a fast bowler outside – a sense of responsibility was required”

Walking into the finals, New Zealand had a fair amount of game practice after wrapping up a test series against England. Whereas except for the intra-squad practice game, the Indian players were away from the game ever since the IPL had paused. Highlighting it, Pathan hurled “By the time we (Team India) started fielding for the second session, our bowlers were already tired. This happened because India didn’t get enough match practice. When a team gets less match practice, they don’t have the kind of match fitness required for a particular game. I feel this will improve eventually.”