"Bring in right people who have right mindset to perform" - When Virat Kohli opened up on India's heavy defeat to New Zealand in WTC final 2021

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli led the side when they took on New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final. Despite dominating Test cricket then, Team India stumbled against the Black Caps, suffering an eight-wicket defeat in the 2021 final.

An agitated Kohli minced no words post-game, calling out some players indirectly for their mindset. The contest swung in each direction several times, with New Zealand only ahead by 32 runs after the first innings.

However, India fell apart in their second essay, scoring only 170 to set New Zealand a target of 139 for victory. The Kiwis achieved it, losing only two wickets, to win their first ICC event since the 2000 Champions Trophy.

Reflecting on the loss post-game, Kohli said (via NDTV):

"We will continue to reassess and continue to have conversations around what are the things required to strengthen our side and not follow or fall prey to certain patterns. You have to reassess and replan and understand what dynamics work for the team and how we can be fearless. Bring in right people who have right mindset to perform."

He added:

"We will not wait for a year or so and have to plan ahead. If you see our white ball team now, we have great depth and guys are ready and confident. Same thing needs to be done with Test cricket."

Kohli himself had a forgettable outing, scoring 44 and 13, as India's batting suffered costly collapses in both innings.

Team India missed an opportunity to make it a hat-trick of WTC finals

Despite the 2021 WTC final defeat, Team India continued their domination in the red-ball format. They qualified for the summit clash in the following 2021-23 cycle to set up a spicy contest against Australia.

However, the Asian giants squandered another opportunity to win their maiden WTC title, losing to the Aussies by a massive 209 runs. The recently concluded 2023-25 WTC cycle saw India finish outside the top two for the first time in tournament history.

With back-to-back series losses to New Zealand and Australia, India missed a golden opportunity to make it a hat-trick of WTC final qualifications. Instead, defending champions Australia will take on South Africa in the 2025 final, starting at Lord's on Wednesday, June 11.

A win for the Proteas will be their first ICC title since the 1998 Champions Trophy triumph.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran