Kyle Jamieson was New Zealand’s hero on day three as he claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in just eight Tests to help the Black Caps seize initiative in the WTC Final.
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Kiwi pacer Kyle Jamieson had an absolute belter of a bowling spell during India’s first innings in the final of the ICC World Test Championship. He picked up an incredible five-wicket haul which completely disoriented the Indian batting lineup and restricted them to a mere 217. The biggest catch in Jamieson’s fifer was undoubtedly Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Speaking about the delivery that got the better of Kohli, Jamieson said that the inswinging ball could have gotten the better of any batter, and that it was not a ball specifically targeted towards the Indian skipper. The Kiwi set the Indian skipper up with a series of outswingers before bowling one that comes in. Kohli failed to read the ball accurately and fell victim to Jamieson.
“Oh, I guess yes. Maybe there is some sort of pattern and this we know talk about a huge amount, the one that I was able to get him (Kohli) today certainly seamed back a little bit,” Jamieson said in a virtual press conference after the day’s play.
“And that was pretty hard to control as a bowler and pretty harder to manage as a batter no matter who you are. So I don’t think it is necessarily just for him (Kohli),” he added.
Obviously, the wicket of Kohli is extremely crucial. Not just because of the strategic advantage the Kiwis would get after dismissing one of the best batters in the world at the moment, but also the mental effect on the whole team. Dismissing a man like Kohli would have a damaging effect on the Indian side’s morale, whereas it would have a highly positive impact on the Kiwi morale. Jamieson said that the dismissal of Kohli was an integral part of how things turned out during the Indian innings.
“Yeah, obviously he (Kohli) is a massive part of their team and pretty big wicket to get, so to get him pretty early morning, was I guess was nice and pleasing and pretty crucial for how the day followed,” the 26-year-old said.
Jamieson also admitted that he did not feel the Indian skipper had any glitches in his technique.
“Oh, not really I think, he is (Kohli) a world-class batter and those guys don’t tend to have too many chinks in their armory. He is obviously a massive part of their line-up and to get him early certainly set things up nicely for us,” he added.
Kohli did seem to have somewhat of a struggle in the middle despite facing a large number of deliveries. It was probably the conditions that troubled him and the Kiwi pacers, who are used to making the most out of windy conditions, took the advantage. Jamieson, whose figures were 5-31, was quite pleased with keeping the Indian skipper in check. In his 132-ball innings, Kohli could only manage to hit one boundary.
“It is pleasing in terms of for myself trying to wobble the ball and try and keep him in check a little bit and to get that was pleasing and it was a great start for our day,” the 26-year-old concluded.
India were bowled out for just 217 runs in the first innings after a fairly strong start by openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. At the end of the third day’s play, the Kiwis’ score stood at 101 runs for the loss of two wickets.
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