Kohli congratulated Watling as both India and New Zealand stepped out to the field on the Reserve Day of the ongoing WTC final
BJ Watling will be retiring from international cricket after the tour of England.
A tenth-wicket stand of 127 between BJ Watling (103) and Trent Boult (52 not out) helped New Zealand to a first innings total of 469 on the second day of the opening match in a two-Test series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
New Zealand, who made 249 in the first innings, were undone by the Sri Lankan spinners in their second spell as well.
The cricketing cliche of taking each ball on its merit and then switching off to deal with the next was never more appropriate on Monday as Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling batted New Zealand into a strong position in the second Test against India.
BJ Watling scored the first Test century on Bay Oval as New Zealand established a 41-run lead against England on Saturday, reaching 394-6 at the close of the third day of the first Test in Mt. Maunganui.
England's bowlers have plenty to ponder ahead of the first test after a New Zealand XI chased down a steep target for a three-wicket win in the tourists' only warm-up match in Queensland on Saturday.
Kane Williamson inched towards his ninth Test century as he and BJ Watling staved off Sri Lanka's push for victory at the close of play on the third day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve on Monday.
BJ Watling scored a fine century as New Zealand dominated the final session with steely resolve to reach 338 for six on the third day of the second Test against England on Sunday.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and B J Watling broke the world record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership with a 352-run stand against India in the ongoing second Test in Wellington on Monday.
After a long time in the series the hosts has a little to worry about. New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling admitted that a long, hard battle lies ahead of their batsmen in the second Test against India after the visitors took a formidable 246-run first innings lead, riding on Ajinkya Rahane's maiden Test ton in Wellington on Saturday.
Skipper Williamson cleared to play; spinner Patel included in 15-man squad
Watling, who was initially a top-order batsman and part-time wicketkeeper when he first made the New Zealand side in 2009, moved one behind Adam Parore's national record as the hosts bowled Bangladesh out for 234 early in the final session.
New Zealand, on Monday, recalled temperamental all-rounder Corey Anderson for the five-match ODI series against India next month and he will play as a specialist batsman.
The Indian-born 29-year-old, New Zealand's top domestic wicket-taker in the past three seasons, replaces all-rounder Mitchell Santner who is still recovering from knee surgery.
Kane Williamson and BJ Watling produced a world record sixth wicket partnership of 365 runs to guide New Zealand to 524 for five before captain Brendon McCullum declared their second innings closed after tea on the fourth day of the second Test.
The chances of a fightback look bleak with New Zealand already conceding a 215-run lead to India but wicket-keeper BJ Watling on Saturday hoped that the visiting team's fighting spirit would inspire them to challenge the home side. New Zealand collapsed to 262 all out after resuming the day at a comfortable 152 for one and then India extended their lead to 215, ending the day at a commanding 159 for one. New Zealand now have a tough task at hand as they not only have to restrict India as early as possible on Sunday but also bat in the fourth innings on a not-so-friendly pitch.
New Zealand middle-order batsman Peter Fulton has paid the price for a poor run of form. He has been dropped from the national squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan.
New Zealand skittled Sri Lanka out for 122 on Monday to secure a series-levelling victory by an innings and 65 runs on the final day of a rain-hit second and final Test in Colombo.
Brendon McCullum was on 281, his highest Test score and the second highest by a New Zealander, at the close of play on Day 4 after having shared a world record stand of 352 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper BJ Watling who made 124.
Images from the Day 4 of the second and final Test between New Zealand and India, at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington, on Monday.
An exhausted Brendon McCullum stood on the cusp of history on Monday after he had saved the second Test against India and set up his side up for a tilt at what would be an astounding victory on the fifth and final day.
Mayank Agarwal scored his fourth Test half-century as India inched to 78-2 at tea on the third day of Trent Boult followed up his counter-attacking cameo innings of 38 to take three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, to put New Zealand on top against India at the end of the third day of the first test on Sunday. Trent Boult followed up his counter-attacking cameo innings of 38 to take three wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, to put New Zealand on top against India at the end of the third day of the first test on Sunday. The visitors, who had not lost any of their seven previous International Cricket Council World Test Championship matches, were 144-4 at the close of play at the Basin Reserve, still 39 runs behind and staring at their potential first defeat.
New Zealand named uncapped wicketkeeper Reece Young in their 13-man squad for the home Test series against Pakistan. Gareth Hopkins makes way for Young after failing to impress on the Black Caps' recent tour of India.
New Zealand highlighted the gulf in international cricket when they bowled Zimbabwe out twice on Saturday to win the only Test match of their tour at McLean Park in Napier by an innings and 301 runs.
Martin Guptill hit his second Test century to put New Zealand in firm control of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club on Tuesday.
England, chasing 455 to pull off the highest successful run chase in Test history, reached 44 for no wicket at the close on a rain-hit fourth day of the second and final match of the series against New Zealand on Monday.
Apart from Kohli, four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
Left-handed batsman Henry Nicholls is in line to make his Test debut against Australia next week with Ross Taylor ruled out of the side for the match at the Basin Reserve with a side strain.
Sri Lanka got off to a strong start in their chase for a 268-run victory target after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne frustrated New Zealand with a 133-run opening stand on Day 4 of the first Test.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra picked up his second five-wicket haul in one-day internationals as India skittled New Zealand for 79 to win the final match by 190 runs in Visakhapatnam on Saturday for a 3-2 series victory.
Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined to put New Zealand in a strong position in the first Test before India struck back late on Saturday to remove both just as their partnership threatened to take the match away from the tourists. Images from Day 2 of the first Test between New Zealand and India in Wellington on Saturday.
New Zealand's batting tail wagged to take them to 403 in their first innings before they returned to dismiss Pakistan's openers on the second day of the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday.
Supremely positive, aggressive and efficient, the Black Caps amply justified their status as the world's third-ranked Test side in a 1-1 draw with their hosts which fluctuated from the first ball to the last. New Zealand are a team to be reckoned with.
England finished day two on 111-2 and trail New Zealand by 267 runs in the first innings of the first Test after Devon Conway's double ton took the game away from the home side on Thursday.
Former New Zealand spinner John Bracewell believes charismatic batter Devon Conway has caught the 'Kane Williamson bug' to keep learning from past mistakes and making rapid improvements.
With Kane Williamson likely to miss the Test, New Zealand will have a lot of work to do in the 3rd Test in Sydney.
Off-spinner Mark Craig captured the best figures by a New Zealand bowler on debut as the visitors beat West Indies by 186 runs late on the fourth day of the first Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
Kane Williamson scored his fifth century in eight Tests in 2015 to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Monday.
Rain wiped out virtually the entire third day's play in the first Test between New Zealand and England with only 17 balls bowled in Auckland on Saturday as the hosts padded their lead to 175 runs.
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