Kane Williamson (52, 89b) and Ross Taylor (47, 100b) guided New Zealand to the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) title with an eight-wicket win over India in Southampton on Wednesday.
Needing 139 to win, New Zealand lost openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham cheaply to R. Ashwin before Williamson and Taylor soaked up the pressure with an unbeaten 96-run stand. Taylor, who was dropped on 26 by Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip, hit the winning runs.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant made an entertaining 41 but India still fell well short of the 200-mark in its second innings.
Kyle Jamieson had been the wrecker-in-chief in India's first innings and the towering seamer returned to haunt the opposition again on the sixth morning.
The 6' 8" (2.03m) bowler dismissed Virat Kohli (13) and Cheteshwar Pujara (15) in successive overs to jolt India.
HIGHLIGHTS|
The bowler was denied a third wicket when Tim Southee dropped Pant at second slip when the batsman was on five.
The left-hander decided to counter-attack, stepping out repeatedly against Neil Wagner injecting excitement into the contest.
Pant attempted the scoop shot, played the reverse-pull and nearly ran himself out in his eventful knock which came to an end after an inspired bowling change by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
Trent Boult (3-39) dismissed Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin in the same over before Southee (4-48) polished off the tail dismissing Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in a space of five balls.
This was the first sixth day of Test cricket since the drawn match between India and West Indies in Kanpur in 1979.
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