Sunil Gavaskar believes that India has earned their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final without owing anything to New Zealand. India has earned their place by playing outstanding cricket over the past two years. On Monday, March 13th, India’s qualification was confirmed when New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka in a thrilling match in Christchurch, thanks to the magnificent century of Kane Williamson. The Lankans needed back-to-back wins to compete in the WTC final, but unfortunately, that was not meant to be.
“I don’t think India owe New Zealand anything. India have played outstanding cricket over the years to qualify, to be the No.2 team, whatever you might say.
Sunil Gavaskar
“New Zealand won, fine, it’s good for New Zealand cricket, but, ” Gavaskar added, “I don’t think Indian cricket owes New Zealand cricket any thank you or anything of that sort. Because India have played quite outstanding cricket over the last two years since the 2021 World Test Championship final and therefore, they deserve to be in the finals on their own and not with anybody’s help.”
The fourth and final Test of the India-Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ended in a draw on a relatively easy pitch. India won the series 2-1, having taken the first two Tests of the series in Nagpur and Delhi.
Virat Kohli never seemed out of form: Sunil Gavaskar
Virat Kohli’s incredible 186-run performance in the Ahmedabad Test was one of the highlights for India, as it marked his first century in Test cricket since November 2019. During a discussion with Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar lauded Virat’s achievement, saying…
“Every great batter thinks about a hundred. A century is the minimum price he keeps for his wicket. The way Kohli was batting in the last two-and-a-half years when he didn’t score a century, he was batting well, scored seven or eight fifties.”
“So it never seemed that he was out of form. Gavaskar continued, “The only thing that was happening was that he was getting out on his first mistake.”
“He started slightly slowly, where he was trying to figure out the pitch and the bowling. Then he played a few shots after getting set and tried to play even more shots after he had scored a century.” He further elaborated.
