The Black Caps’ stunning victory against India in the World Test Championship final has prompted an apology from one of their most bitter rivals.

Australian captain Tim Paine, who had predicted that India would win the decider ‘comfortably’, has admitted he was wrong after being gently reminded of his forecast by gleeful Black Caps fans.

“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,” Paine told Newstalk ZB.

“I thought the New Zealanders played outstandingly. It’s always a pleasure to watch the way they go about it. 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.”

The Black Caps were beaten comfortably by Australia when the teams last met in Australia in 2019-2020, and Paine admitted that his prediction had been fuelled in part by his frustration that his side had not reached the WTC final.

“You want to be playing in that test – that’s why I couldn’t watch the first three or four nights of it because I was dirty that we weren’t there,” Paine said.

“It’s a showpiece event, it’s a World Cup final. Can we make it better? Yes, we probably can but we shouldn’t take anything away from New Zealand.”

India captain Virat Kohli has also criticised the format, suggesting it needs to be a ‘best-of-three’ series after watching his side lose in Southampton this week.

However, Paine was in no doubt that the Black Caps had improved significantly since their most-recent loss to Australia, with the addition of two key players.

“They’ve done well under Kane [Williamson] since they last played us… they’ve added big Kyle Jamieson, who on day five or six was outstanding, and a quality opening batter which is Devon Conway, so they’re always improving and they always seem to find these good cricketers,” Paine said.