Cricket: Tim Paine eats 'humble pie' after predicting India's easy win in WTC Final

Australian skipper Tim Paine has apologized to New Zealand for predictingthat India would beat them to win the World Test Championship final. Tim Paine had said that India 'will win pretty comfortably if they play anywhere near their best, yet needed to reclaim his words when New Zealand was crowned as the World Champions of Test cricket.

Numerous experts had marked New Zealand as top picks, inferable from their predominant skill of conditions subsequent to beating England 1-0 in a Test series in their development to the WTC final.

However, Tim Paine chose to change course. Seeing the World Test Championship last while addressing the media from Brisbane, the Australian Test captain had before sponsored India to win the final easily. He had said: "My prediction is, India will win pretty comfortably if they play anywhere near their best."

Addressing New Zealand radio broadcast after the BlackCaps werecrowned World Test Championship champions, Tim Paine apologized to the New Zealand fans and said: "We all get some wrong. I copped a bit from the Kiwi fans, so I thought I'd come on air and eat some humble pie. I thought the New Zealanders played outstandingly. It's always a pleasure to watch the way they go about it.”

Many named India versus New Zealand last as an ultimate clash, considering the differentiating assets accessible to the two countries. Lauding New Zealand for their work, Tim Paine conceded he comprehended the extent of the success as he comes from a little state himself. He added:

"For such a small nation - I'm from Tasmania, which is obviously our smallest resource state and we punch above our weight - so I certainly respect what the Kiwis do on an international stage.”

New Zealand beat India by eight wickets to turn into the debut World Test Champions after a wonderful show from their bowlers, which saw the BlackCaps dismiss India for 217 and 170 in the two innings.