The immense respect and camaraderie between the two is clearly visible whenever they meet in the public. Photo courtesy the Inside Sports[/caption]
Even after days of winning the inaugural edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Word Test Championship (WTC), the trophy winning Captain Kane Williamson is still not out of the winning moment.
Winning against India, a team led by his very good friend Virat Kohli, made it more special for Williamson.
The picture of Williamson resting his head on Kohli’s shoulder has stormed the internet. The picture speaks thousand words about the friendship between two of the modern day legends.
The immense respect and camaraderie between the two is clearly visible and Williamson acknowledges the same in an interview to Cricbuzz in India last week.
First acquainted in U19 World Cup in 2008
“… Someone gets the trophy and a team perhaps doesn’t get the fortune to have that. But we always know that there’s a bigger picture to it all. It was a really nice moment and our friendship and relationship are deeper than a game of cricket. And we both know that,” said Williamson.
Williamson and Kohli were first acquainted with each other for the first time in the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup. The Kiwis Captain reckoned that he has high respect for the final contest where the two sides played competitive cricket.
It was like on a knife edge
“And the friendship with Virat stems back a number of years and a number of sort of different times. And it was cool. Both teams were very competitive and played really hard and the game was so close. I know the end result tells you one thing.
“Throughout the match, it felt like it was on a knife’s edge and you had full respect for that. At the end of it, after a long, tough match like that, there’s an appreciation by both teams,” Williamson added.
The winning team’s skipper further mentioned that India have always pushed them as they have often set high benchmarks in the games that they play.
‘There was no let-up’
“That was a great moment. We knew anytime you play against India, wherever you are, it’s an incredibly tough challenge. They often set the benchmark in our game in all formats. They show that with the depth that they have and cricket in their country as well,” said Williamson.
While answering how much fun it was actually while batting in the ultimate Test, Williamson asserted with a slight giggle that it was indeed difficult. He hailed Indian seamers for bowling the highest quality.
“Well, sheesh, (laughs). It was fun that you were batting but certainly difficult. There was no let-up. You’d expect that. The quality the Indian team have in all departments. The seam bowling department is of the highest (chuckles again)
Rainy conditions
“We saw it in both innings for both teams. It was very difficult to score, and you throw in a surface that poses even more challenges. It was a real scrap I suppose, and I think that made for quite an enthralling match for people watching, which is great.”
Being assisted by the rainy conditions, Indian bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami, took a four-fer in the first innings and took advantage and troubled the Kiwis batsmen.
However, New Zealand senior players --Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor-- later fathomed the Indian pacer battery when they stood tall and clinched the win during their second innings.