R Ashwin finishes as leading wicket-taker of WTC 2019-21 with 71 scalps to his name

Premier Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finished the 2019-21 World Test Championship cycle as the leading wicket-taker with 71 scalps to his credit.

WTC Final:  R Ashwin finishes as the leading wicket-taker with 71 scalps

R Ashwin achieved the feat during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, which was his 14th Test in this cycle of WTC. His 71st victim was New Zealand opener, Devon Conway. Ashwin picked up two wickets each in the first (2/28) and second innings (2/17) in the final.

Meanwhile, Australian pace sensation Pat Cummins finished with 70 scalps to his name in 14 Test matches whereas, senior England speedster Stuart Broad finished third on the list with 69 scalps from 17 games.

New Zealand rewrite history by becoming the first-ever World Test champions

India were bundled out for just 170 runs in their second innings courtesy of a disciplined bowling performance from the Kiwis as it meant that they only had to chase down a target of 139. It was a sorry-looking scorecard for India as they lost the key wickets of skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and, Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane in the first session itself. Only wicket-keeping batsman Rishabh Pant played attacking cricket as he scored a vital 41 before being dismissed while trying to up the scoring rate.
Coming back to New Zealand's run chase, they seemed to be on the back foot after losing openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway quickly but captain Kane Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor soldiered on for the BlackCaps. Taylor got a reprieve when he was dropped by Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip. Later, Jasprit Bumrah went on to spill skipper Williamson's catch as well. However, the match as a contest was well over by then.

The duo registered an unbeaten 96-run stand as New Zealand registered an emphatic win by eight wickets to become the first-ever World Test champions. Kane Williamson remained unbeaten on 52 while Ross Taylor was not out on 47.
By the virtue of this win, the BlackCaps ended up winning their second ICC event after a long wait of 21 years. Coincidentally, the Kiwis led by Stephen Fleming had beaten India in the ICC Knockout Trophy final.

(With PTI Inputs)