'To win it against a quality team like India, definitely the pinnacle of the game for me': NZ's Neil Wagner on WTC final

New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner recently stated that the Kiwis win over India in the WTC final is 'the pinnacle of the game' for him.

At last, New Zealand won an ICC trophy to end a long drought and it was one that every team would have wanted- The World Test Championship (WTC). This is something that even the Black Caps pacer Neil Wagner recognizes, who recently stated that the Kiwis win over India in the WTC final is 'the pinnacle of the game' for him. Even more so for Wagner, who does not feature in the NZ's white-ball cricket and that this format was the best chance for him to become a world champion.

The last time New Zealand won an ICC event was in 2000, when they lifted the Champions Trophy. They lost the 2019 World Cup final to England at Lord's but this time, they got over the line. In a chat with ESPNCricinfo, Wagner disclosed that he had never dreamt of winning something as significant as the WTC due to his non-involvement in white-ball cricket

"I never dreamed of it. Playing white-ball cricket for New Zealand was sort of a dream and a ship that had sailed to be fair - thinking about the white-ball World Cup in some sort of a way. I can't speak for everyone, this is the ultimate, for me, to win a Test Championship final," remarked Wagner.

He added that it was all the more meaningful because they beat a team like India to lift the Test mace. "Even though it's the first one and probably hard to compare with others, it's definitely the pinnacle of the game for me. And to win it against a quality team like India and the way we did and then to see what it has meant to everyone," commented Wagner.

Left-arm pacer Wagner picked up three wickets in the entire Test, two in the first and one in the second innings. His third wicket, of Ravindra Jadeja, was the most important as he opened the floodgates for his team to wrap the lower order and set up the match in their favor.

New Zealand eventually won the match by 8 wickets in Southampton.