'I was very relieved when he was out' - Tim Southee describes what he felt after dropping Rishabh Pant's catch in WTC final

India and New Zealand drew swords against each other for the high-octane contest of the inaugural final of the World Test Championship. Being the ultimate Test of the purest format, it was a highly anticipated clash for the entire cricketing fraternity. Both the skippers Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli entered the field trying to taste the victory of the maiden ICC Trophy as captains.

It goes without saying that team India had an incredible journey to reach to the summit clash. In their entire race of the WTC, they lost a lone series and exuded extraordinary character Down Under when they cast their spell of victory at the Gabba. The Kiwis also dominated the proceedings in England recently when they registered their first series win in England since 1999.

Thus, every ball of the WTC final was a little contest in itself and had the power to change the fortunes of the game. Whilst this, during the second innings of India, Tim Southee dropped a catch of Rishabh Pant at second slip when he edged the pacer Kyle Jamieson, off the last ball of the 40th over. His wicket would have been extremely pivotal for the Kiwis, given his ability to accelerate the innings.

Recounting the incident Tim Southee said, “He can take the game away from you in the space of five or six overs. It was already a tight game and so there were some demons throwing around inside my head. But I had to drop those (thoughts) as I had to bowl the next over. You’ve just got to suck it up and move on. But I was very relieved when Pant was out.”

Pant’s recent form has turned many heads

After wrapping up the historic Gabba win, Pant displayed his flair in the home series against England. The world took notice of him as he just didn’t score runs but had a huge role in the team’s win. Over the course of time, he also made some major tweaks to his wicket-keeping abilities and has shut many negative opinions thrown at him.

The young southpaw also led Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who was rested owing to a shoulder injury. Under him and the watchful eyes of the Australian legend Ricky Ponting, the team stood at the top of the standings when the season was suspended.