Nandos, School in Widnes, England

It was an early morning in New Zealand when skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor fashioned the historic victory in an inaugural World Test Championship final at Southampton against India. Naturally, the New Zealanders were overjoyed as their day started on a positive note but at the same time there were mixed emotions among the Indians who are settled there.Nagpur's Abhimanyu Garud who is settled there and has been playing for Eden Roskill Cricket Club in Auckland for last five years has exclusively shared his experience with Lokmat Times. “ Actually more than cricket Rubgy is a most popular game in New Zealand. Therefore, there was no euphoria among the cricket fans when Kiwis achieved success in ICC tournament which was elusive for them. As far as we Indians are concerned we have a mixed feeling. We are a little bit disappointed over India's loss but at the same time happy that New Zealand where we are earning our bread and butter triumphed in the Test championship”.Garud who had played a key role in propelling Auckland University to title victory in Inter-university Cricket Tournament in 2013-2014 with his all-round display said, “ The day was quiet. There were not much celebrations. The whole day the cricket lovers were seen discussing the final match. But one thing is sure when the team will return to the country a grand welcome is awaiting them”.Abhimanyu who has experience of playing with explosive batsman Martin Guptill and opening batsman Jeet Raval in Premier Grade Tournament said after heartbreak in the World Cup finals in 2015 and 2019, the cricket fans in New Zealand were expecting victory in the World Test Championship. “As compared to Indians the Kiwis were prepared for the test championship final. They had already defeated England in the Test series. Therefore their confidence was high and secondly the conditions were also fabourable for them”.Cricket is considered a religion in India and cricketers are the icons. But that is not the case in New Zealand. “ New Zealanders give respect to the cricketers but at the same time also give them their space. I have witnessed former skipper Daniel Vettori jogging on the streets and Martin Guptill doing shopping in mall very casually without any crowd around them”. Garud signed off by saying that this victory will definitely attract the youths towards cricket in New Zealand and make the game more popular.

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