Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson stood unflustered against a stern pace attack and the greatest spinner of this generation to guide New Zealand to the World Test Championship title in Southampton.
After R Ashwin inflicted two blows, the pressure mounted on the New Zealand batters. But Williamson and Taylor put up a masterclass of composure, patience and technical adeptness to lead their team to a memorable eight-wicket victory.
Kane Williamson: 9.5 (R 101, Ave 101)
The English summer was supposed to be the litmus test of his batting. He makes runs, everyone knows that. But there were doubts about his ability to do that under thick clouds with the sun playing hide-and-seek. If the 49 was a graft, the unbeaten 52 had calm dominance written all over it.
Kyle Jamieson 9.5 (W 7, Ave 8.71, R 21)
The baby-faced giant picked his fifth five-wicket haul in his eighth Test match, and got both Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in the second innings. He also played a brisk cameo.
Devon Conway 9 (R 76, Ave 36.50)
Conway followed his fairytale debut a few days ago with 54 here, the highest individual score in the final. He was sturdy in defence. However, he needs to control that uppish flick.
Tim Southee 8.5 (W 5, Ave 22.40, R 30)
It is never easy to escape the shadow of the brilliant, thrilling Trent Boult, but Southee seems to be rarely bothered by that. If he was a bit wayward early on, he came back strongly to pick up four wickets.
Trent Boult 8.5 (W 5, Ave 17.20)
Boult was all over in his first spell of the match, but was more accurate as the match progressed. The in-swinger that nailed Pujara was arguably the best delivery of the match.
Ross Taylor 8 (R 58, Ave 58)
The winning boundary, a supremely executed flick off Mohammed Shami to script the perfect end note to a start-stop but compelling match, came off Taylor’s willow. His presence during the chance was reassuringly faultless.
Neil Wagner 8 (W 3, Ave 28.00)
Wagner plays the role of the metronome to perfection. He usually bowls short, but in England, he breaks away from his usual self and chases swing to trap batters. He bowled a snorter to find Shubman Gill’s edge, and bowled a short-pitched ball that had Ajinkya Rahane was sucked into pulling to square leg.
Tom Latham 7 (R 39, Ave 19.50)
Latham’s ability to withstand Indian pacers in the conditions that favoured them helped New Zealand lay a solid foundation in the first innings. Along with Conway, he added 70 runs and played over 34 balls to blunt the attack.
BJ Watling 6.5 (R 1, Ave 1, C 5)
There could not have been a greater epilogue to Watling’s illustrious career. He did not concede a bye in the first innings, and kept beautifully with a dislocated finger in the second.
Henry Nicholls 5 (R 7, Ave 7)
Nicholls was dismissed early, but will get points for a superb catch that sent back Rishabh Pant at a crucial juncture.
Colin de Grandhomme 4 (R 13, W 0)
There was not much to contribute for de Grandhomme, who was used sparingly. However, his dibbly-dobblies posed problems to Kohli, no less. With bat, he made 11 in the first innings.